OBESITY PREVENTION IN BLACK TEENS: GO GIRLS! II

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This five-year project, titled "Go Girls II", will develop and test an intervention for overweight 12-16 year old African American adolescents and their parents. The project will be conducted in two stages: 1) Formative Research and Pilot Testing (Years 0-1.5); and 2) Randomized Field Trial (Years 1.5-5). The Project will be conducted in middle and upper socioeconomic Black churches in the Atlanta Metropolitan area. GG II builds on several prior studies conducted by our group including Eat for Life, Go Girls I, Keepin' It Real, and Know Your Body. The intervention, which will undergo extensive pilot testing and formative evaluation, will include group nutrition and physical activity sessions conducted at churches. Each session will comprise three components; 1) experiential, interactive behavioral nutrition and physical education activity; 2) 30-45 minutes of physical activity; and 3) preparation and consumption of low-fat, portion controlled meals and snacks. Intervention families will receive nutrition education video materials and parents will receive an exercise audio tape. For some sessions, children and parents will meet jointly, while for others, break out sessions will be used. Target behaviors for the intervention include: 1) increased fruit and vegetable intake; 2) decreased fat intake; 3) decreased fast food intake; 4) decreased television viewing; and S) increased physical activity. During Stage 1 formative research, activities from our GG I intervention, which targeted low income overweight African American adolescents, will be adapted to a middle/upper income African American population. Stage 1 will culminate in a 12-week pilot of the intervention in two churches. For the Stage 2 field trial 6-9 churches (25-30 families recruited per church) will be randomly assigned to treatment or comparison condition. Participants will be tracked for one year. Incentives will be used to enhance recruitment and retention. The primary outcome will be adiposity, assessed by BMI and Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. Secondary outcomes include; blood pressure, blood lipids, serum insulin, cardiovascular fitness, diet (24hr recalls and FFQ), physical activity (7-day recall), and cognitive measures (e.g., attitudes and efficacy). Safety will be evaluated using eating practices and growth curve data. The study employs a nested cohort design, with churches, rather than individuals assigned to condition. To control for cluster randomization effects in outcome analyses, we will utilize SAS/PROC MIXED, with church as the unit of analysis.