Promoting Child Inhibitory Control Skills Around Food
| Status: | Completed |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Obesity Weight Loss |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Endocrinology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 4 - 6 |
| Updated: | 4/21/2016 |
| Start Date: | June 2014 |
| End Date: | November 2015 |
Today's environment provides many hedonic stimuli that promote consumption of unhealthy
energy-dense snack foods. It is widely recognized that a systems approach is required to
deal with this complex problem. However, individuals, particularly children, also need to
develop the personal capacity to deal with tempting stimuli and inhibit responses to these
energy-dense foods. Therefore in this proposal, we will focus on enhancing higher level
executive functions, particularly inhibitory control, which is needed to counterbalance
impulsive behavior and is crucial for growth and development. We have chosen to focus on
developing inhibitory control in preschool-age children because executive
functioning/inhibitory control and eating habits are developing at this time. Among
preschool-age children, inhibitory control is fostered through social play-based curriculums
and has been found to be related to greater school readiness and academic skills. Therefore,
the goal of this proposal is to adapt a play-based curriculum, the Tools of the Mind
program, to promote greater inhibitory control skills in preschool children and decrease
consumption of energy-dense snack foods. In Phase I, we will develop and pilot a Child
Inhibitory Control Play-based Program (CHIC Play) among children age 4- to 6-years old. We
will adapt the learning tools used in the Tools of the Mind curriculum and employ
naturalistic play scenarios, drawings (visual support), and games to teach children to
inhibit their responses to energy-dense snack foods. Once developed, we will test the
efficacy of CHIC Play in the preschool setting. Parent groups will also be conducted to
support the adoption of these skills at home. The primary outcome of interest is caloric
intake and age- and gender-adjusted percent of daily caloric intake as measured by the
Eating in the Absence of Hunger (EAH) free access procedure and a snack time procedure.
Inhibitory control skills will also be measured using executive functioning tasks.
Feasibility and acceptability of this program will be determined from parent, child, and
teacher surveys. The purpose of this study is to develop a new innovative method of
decreasing energy-dense snack food consumption by promoting the development of inhibitory
control or impulse control. If successful, this program has the potential to play a role in
the treatment and prevention of childhood obesity.
energy-dense snack foods. It is widely recognized that a systems approach is required to
deal with this complex problem. However, individuals, particularly children, also need to
develop the personal capacity to deal with tempting stimuli and inhibit responses to these
energy-dense foods. Therefore in this proposal, we will focus on enhancing higher level
executive functions, particularly inhibitory control, which is needed to counterbalance
impulsive behavior and is crucial for growth and development. We have chosen to focus on
developing inhibitory control in preschool-age children because executive
functioning/inhibitory control and eating habits are developing at this time. Among
preschool-age children, inhibitory control is fostered through social play-based curriculums
and has been found to be related to greater school readiness and academic skills. Therefore,
the goal of this proposal is to adapt a play-based curriculum, the Tools of the Mind
program, to promote greater inhibitory control skills in preschool children and decrease
consumption of energy-dense snack foods. In Phase I, we will develop and pilot a Child
Inhibitory Control Play-based Program (CHIC Play) among children age 4- to 6-years old. We
will adapt the learning tools used in the Tools of the Mind curriculum and employ
naturalistic play scenarios, drawings (visual support), and games to teach children to
inhibit their responses to energy-dense snack foods. Once developed, we will test the
efficacy of CHIC Play in the preschool setting. Parent groups will also be conducted to
support the adoption of these skills at home. The primary outcome of interest is caloric
intake and age- and gender-adjusted percent of daily caloric intake as measured by the
Eating in the Absence of Hunger (EAH) free access procedure and a snack time procedure.
Inhibitory control skills will also be measured using executive functioning tasks.
Feasibility and acceptability of this program will be determined from parent, child, and
teacher surveys. The purpose of this study is to develop a new innovative method of
decreasing energy-dense snack food consumption by promoting the development of inhibitory
control or impulse control. If successful, this program has the potential to play a role in
the treatment and prevention of childhood obesity.
Inclusion Criteria:
- 1) child age between 4 and 6 years
- 2) child BMI ≥5th %ile (Children below this BMI percentile may have an underlying
biological mechanism that influences eating behaviors.)
- 3) active parental consent
Exclusion Criteria:
- 1) child with major psychological diagnosis, developmental delay, or other medical
disorder that affects weight, eating behaviors, and cognition
- 2) food allergies to the foods used in the study
- 3) plans to leave the preschool within the timeframe of the study
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