Obesity Intervention for Low-Income African American Preschoolers

This study will do a preliminarily validation of a parent-focused obesity intervention
program for parents of low-income, African American preschoolers who are currently overweight
(> 85th BMI %tile). Participants will be randomly assigned to an intervention or attention
control condition. Those in the intervention will receive an intervention that is eight
sessions in length and carried out in the participant's home. The sessions will target the
nutrition and physical activity knowledge of parents and their motivation for changing
parenting related to family eating habits and activity level. Sessions include
psycho-education and skills building exercises. The attention comparison control condition
(ACCC) participants will receive one home visit, 7 newsletters and 4 monthly support phone
calls. The content of this condition also focuses on nutrition and activity knowledge,
motivation and parenting. Outcomes for the intervention and ACC conditions will be assessed
at baseline, post-intervention and at a 6-month and 1-year followed up. Child BMI %tile,
consumption of fruits/vegetables and sugary beverages, and activity level will be analyzed to
examine intervention effectiveness across time.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Parents of children enrolled in Head Start preschool in Detroit, MI will be included.
Parents must be 18 years of age or older and their child must be of preschool age,
between 3 and 5 years of age. Based on recruitment from Detroit Head Start, families
will be low-income and of African American descent. Children will have a current body
mass index percentile at or above the 85th percentile.

Exclusion Criteria: Child BMI percentile below the 85th percentile.