Food, Fun, & Fitness Internet Program for Girls: Outcome Evaluation

This research will conduct an outcome evaluation on a promising web based obesity prevention
program for 8-10 year old African American girls. A pilot study with 80 girls established
its feasibility: recruitment goals were met; attrition rates were < 10%; logon rates to the
online program were 74.5%; and statistically significant increases in fruit and vegetable
consumption and time spent being physically active were observed. The outcome evaluation
will recruit 400 child-parent pairs to examine short and longer term effects of the program
on obesity risk. It will also conduct mediation analyses to examine pathways of effect. At
the end of the study, the web based program will be hosted on the CNRC web site. Although
the use of the internet as a method for changing health behavior is not new, the use of an
internet program alone, with no face to face interaction, is novel. This is one of the first
programs to attempt this, particularly in an at-risk population.

Inclusion Criteria:

- 8-10 years old

- healthy

- African American

- parent willing to participate in data collection

- internet access

- personal email address

Exclusion Criteria:

- mental, physical, or medical conditions that limit fruit-vegetable consumption,
physical activity, or ability to fully participate in the program and/or complete
baseline and post assessment data collection

- taking medications that influence dietary behaviors, appetite, and/or physical
activity