Impacting diet and sedentary behaviors in adolescent through handheld computers

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Dr. Nicole Nollen is a counseling psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center. The candidate's long-term goal is to function as an independently funded clinical investigator focusing on adolescent health risk reduction through behavioral weight control interventions. To accomplish this goal, the candidate has assembled an exceptional mentoring team and proposed a 4 year career development plan focused on coursework, seminars, independent study, expert consultation, and conference attendance to address gaps in her general and content specific research knowledge. Areas to be addressed include the design and conduct of randomized trials (Ellerbeck, Primary Mentor), adolescent nutrition and nutrition assessment (Carlson, Co- Mentor), and the design and implementation of technology-based (Rapoff, Co-Mentor) and adolescent health risk reduction (Goggin, Co-Mentor) behavioral interventions. To further enhance her career development training, the candidate has proposed a pilot study of 50 adolescents (25 per arm) randomized to a handheld computer behavioral intervention (HHC) addressing fruits and vegetables (FV), sweetened beverages, and TV/screen time or a handheld computer assessment only comparison condition (C). The primary aim is to test the feasibility and acceptability of a 3 month intervention delivered to adolescents via handheld computer. Secondary aims are to: 1) explore 3 and 6 month changes in the primary outcome, body mass index (BMI), and obtain effect size estimates for a full-scale R01 trial, 2) explore 3 and 6 month changes in secondary outcomes, FVs, sweetened beverages, TV/screen time, and physical activity, and 3) to evaluate the role of potential mediators on BMI, FV, TV/screen time, physical activity, and sweetened beverages. RELEVANCE (See instructions): Of relevance to public health, the study presents a novel approach to adolescent obesity prevention that may enhance reach and reduce key obstacles (e.g., stigma) to adolescents' participation in obesity prevention trials. If successful, the intervention has the potential to alter the trajectory of overweight and reduce obesity- related morbidity and mortality. Finally, once developed, the intervention could be sustained at little additional cost and extended to other obesity-related lifestyle factors (e.g., physical activity, dietary fat). (End of Abstract)