A Nutrition and Parenting Program for Fathers and Their Pre-school Age Children

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Pediatric Obesity
• Interventions: Behavioral: Nutrition and Parenting Intervention

• Registration Number: NCT03071419
• Lead Sponsor: University of Connecticut

Brief Summary

This pilot study evaluates the feasibility and impact of a father-focused childhood obesity prevention program on paternal food-related parenting practices, mealtime behaviors and father/child nutrition and physical activity behaviors. Half of participants (low-income father and child dyads) will receive an intervention immediately while the other half of participants will serve as a wait-list control group and receive the intervention at a later date.

Detailed Description

All participants (low-income father and child dyads) will receive an 8 session (2 hours/session) (DAD) including community-based, hands-on, nutrition and parent education intervention with between-session technology enhancements. Dyads will be randomly assigned within groups of 10 to DAD or a wait-list control group (DELAY). Assessments will be conducted at pre, post and 1 month post including a subset of data from cohabiting mothers to assess moderating influences on outcomes.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2016-12
• Study First Submitted: 2017-02-26
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-03-03
• Study First Posted: 2017-03-06
• Primary Completion: 2018-12-31
• Study Completion: 2019-04-30
• Status Verified: 2019-06
• Last Update Submitted: 2019-06-04
• Last Update Posted: 2019-06-05

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: Male
• Target Recruitment: 72

Inclusion Criteria

• "Father" eligible for a federal food assistance or related program (e.g. SNAP) or living in an area with >30% poverty
• Having at least one preschool age child (ages 3-5 years old)
• At least 18 years of age and able to speak English

Exclusion Criteria

• No presence or interaction with child during meal or snack times.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Nutrition and Parenting Intervention	Nutrition and Parenting Intervention	Participants (n=30, father/child dyads in groups of 10) will receive an 8 session (2 hours/session) community-based intervention including nutrition and parent education with between-session technology enhancements.
Wait-list Control	Nutrition and Parenting Intervention	Participants (n=30, father/child dyads in groups of 10) will serve as a wait-list control group and receive the same Nutrition and Parenting Intervention after completing pre and post assessments several weeks apart.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire	Change from baseline at 8 weeks	Food-related parenting practices including parental support, control, structure, feeding

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Father & child diet quality	Change from baseline at 8 weeks	Diet quality assessed using Healthy Eating Index (24 hour recall)
Father & child BMI/BMI Z-Score	Change from baseline at 8 weeks
Meals in Our Household questionnaire	Change from baseline at 8 weeks	Mealtime behaviors and practices including shopping, meal planning, cooking, family meals
Healthy Kids Questionnaire	Change from baseline at 8 weeks	Father and child nutrition behaviors including vegetable and sweetened beverage intake frequency \& Physical activity behaviors including play and screen time

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Hockanum School, Head Start Program; 🇺🇸 East Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Manchester Preschool Center; 🇺🇸 Manchester, Connecticut, United States