Promoting The Self-Regulation Of Energy Intake

The intervention program was developed and piloted. Expected outcomes: At the end of the
intervention program, it is expected that parents in the intervention group will: 1) use more
child-centered and less parent-centered feeding directives; 2) be less likely to show an
indulgent and more likely to show an authoritative feeding style; 3)show lower scores on
restriction and pressure to eat and higher scores on monitoring; and 4) demonstrate higher
levels of food knowledge. Children in the intervention group are expected to: 1) show more
willingness to try new foods, and 2) show increased self-regulation of energy intake. At the
end of the interventions, children are expected to show greater consumption of fruits and
vegetables (including consuming a wider variety of fruits and vegetables). All effects are
expected to continue through the 6- and 12-month follow-ups, although the effects sizes will
diminish. Although we do not expect effects on BMI after 6 weeks, we expect to see decreases
in children's BMI percentiles by the 6- and 12-month follow-ups for the intervention group—
especially for the top 25% of the BMI percentile range. No parental BMI effects are expected.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Parents whose children attend Head Start with the sample of children equally split on
gender and ethnicity,

- with representation from ages 3 to 6 years.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Parents and children who have any kind of food allergies or diabetes or are on special
diets will be excluded from the study.