Healthy Home Offerings Via the Mealtime Environment (HOME) Plus
| Status: | Completed |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Obesity Weight Loss |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Endocrinology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 8 - Any |
| Updated: | 4/17/2018 |
| Start Date: | July 2010 |
| End Date: | June 2016 |
The goal of the proposed project is to see if an innovative family-based intervention can
reduce childhood obesity by actively engaging the whole family in promoting healthy behaviors
in the home. In additions, the project will also examine how the HOME Plus family
intervention influences children's dietary intake, frequency of family meals, availability of
healthy and unhealthy foods in the home and served at meals and snacks, and screen time (TV,
game systems). The study will provide important information on strategies that families can
use at home to prevent obesity.
reduce childhood obesity by actively engaging the whole family in promoting healthy behaviors
in the home. In additions, the project will also examine how the HOME Plus family
intervention influences children's dietary intake, frequency of family meals, availability of
healthy and unhealthy foods in the home and served at meals and snacks, and screen time (TV,
game systems). The study will provide important information on strategies that families can
use at home to prevent obesity.
Childhood obesity is a serious public health problem with limited effective prevention
strategies to date. Although previous nutrition and physical activity environmental
approaches for obesity prevention show some promise, most studies have not shown reductions
in excess weight gain. Moreover, few prevention studies significantly engage parents and
focus on the home environment. To prevent childhood obesity it is essential to promote
healthy behaviors in the home environment because parents are influential primary role models
for healthy eating and sedentary behavior, and are gatekeepers for food and beverage
availability and degree of inactivity within the home. Moreover, the home setting is where
most of children's calories and energy dense foods are consumed and where children engage in
much of their sedentary behavior, particularly screen time (e.g., television, computer, game
system). The proposed study will test the efficacy of the Healthy Home Offerings via the
Mealtime Environment (HOME) Plus program, a ten-month, family-based health promotion
intervention to prevent excess weight gain among 8-12 year old children. The program is based
on Social Cognitive Theory and a socio-ecological framework and promotes both regular and
nutritionally-sound snacks and meals in which family members eat together (i.e., family
meals) and encourages reductions in sedentary behavior, particularly screen time among
children in the home setting. The efficacy of the intervention will be tested in a randomized
controlled trial with 160 families randomized to two conditions (intervention or
attention-only control). Two cohorts of families, recruited from after-school programs and
community centers, will be followed for 2.5 years. The primary hypothesis is that, by the end
of the ten month intervention, target children in the intervention families, relative to
children in the control families, will have significantly lower body mass index (BMI; primary
outcome) after adjustment for baseline BMI values. Secondary outcomes include frequency of
weekly family meals and number of healthful foods and beverages available in the home and
served at family meals and snacks (as reported by parent), target children's daily intakes of
healthful foods and beverages, and target children's minutes of sedentary behavior per week,
particularly screen time. Child and parent measurement will occur in their homes at baseline,
post-intervention (12-months post-randomization), and follow-up (9-months post-intervention)
by trained research staff. The proposed study builds upon successful methods from our HOME
pilot study (2006-2008; NIH R21-DK0072997) and is innovative as it actively engages entire
families in experiential activities and capitalizes on the home setting. The study will
provide important information on environmental and behavioral strategies that families can
use at home to prevent excess weight gain. The intervention program has high translation
potential and is likely to be immediately useful to families of school-age children because
it will be tested in real-world community settings and sustained across the state of
Minnesota by the University of Minnesota's Extension Service.
strategies to date. Although previous nutrition and physical activity environmental
approaches for obesity prevention show some promise, most studies have not shown reductions
in excess weight gain. Moreover, few prevention studies significantly engage parents and
focus on the home environment. To prevent childhood obesity it is essential to promote
healthy behaviors in the home environment because parents are influential primary role models
for healthy eating and sedentary behavior, and are gatekeepers for food and beverage
availability and degree of inactivity within the home. Moreover, the home setting is where
most of children's calories and energy dense foods are consumed and where children engage in
much of their sedentary behavior, particularly screen time (e.g., television, computer, game
system). The proposed study will test the efficacy of the Healthy Home Offerings via the
Mealtime Environment (HOME) Plus program, a ten-month, family-based health promotion
intervention to prevent excess weight gain among 8-12 year old children. The program is based
on Social Cognitive Theory and a socio-ecological framework and promotes both regular and
nutritionally-sound snacks and meals in which family members eat together (i.e., family
meals) and encourages reductions in sedentary behavior, particularly screen time among
children in the home setting. The efficacy of the intervention will be tested in a randomized
controlled trial with 160 families randomized to two conditions (intervention or
attention-only control). Two cohorts of families, recruited from after-school programs and
community centers, will be followed for 2.5 years. The primary hypothesis is that, by the end
of the ten month intervention, target children in the intervention families, relative to
children in the control families, will have significantly lower body mass index (BMI; primary
outcome) after adjustment for baseline BMI values. Secondary outcomes include frequency of
weekly family meals and number of healthful foods and beverages available in the home and
served at family meals and snacks (as reported by parent), target children's daily intakes of
healthful foods and beverages, and target children's minutes of sedentary behavior per week,
particularly screen time. Child and parent measurement will occur in their homes at baseline,
post-intervention (12-months post-randomization), and follow-up (9-months post-intervention)
by trained research staff. The proposed study builds upon successful methods from our HOME
pilot study (2006-2008; NIH R21-DK0072997) and is innovative as it actively engages entire
families in experiential activities and capitalizes on the home setting. The study will
provide important information on environmental and behavioral strategies that families can
use at home to prevent excess weight gain. The intervention program has high translation
potential and is likely to be immediately useful to families of school-age children because
it will be tested in real-world community settings and sustained across the state of
Minnesota by the University of Minnesota's Extension Service.
Inclusion Criteria:
- the target child is between the ages of 8-12 years
- the target adult parent or guardian is the primary food preparer in the home
- target child has an age and gender adjusted body mass index at or above the 50th
percentile
- participants are willing to be randomized into one of two groups (intervention or
control)
- target child must live with participating adult most of the time
Exclusion Criteria:
- participants plan to move out of the area in the next six months
- participants have a severe food allergy, limitation, or medical condition that
prevents them from participating in the intervention
- participants do not speak and read in English
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