Brazos Partnership for Childhood Obesity Research

描述(由申请人提供)：根据德克萨斯州人口统计学家(Eschbach&Fonseca，2009)的数据，儿童肥胖症在过去20年中增加了一倍多，德克萨斯州四年级学生的超重/肥胖率是全国四年级学生平均水平的两倍。此外，德克萨斯州拉美裔和非裔美国儿童的肥胖率在全国名列前茅。这是有问题的，因为70%的超重和肥胖的年轻人成为超重和肥胖的成年人，这显著增加了其他慢性病的风险。在德克萨斯州的布拉索斯县，一群当地利益相关者已经确定儿童肥胖是一个关键的社区问题，并将其列为优先事项。这些利益攸关方之间的网络联系松散，目前的项目将加强这一网络，以利用资源和能力从事与政策有关的研究。大多数以学校为基础的儿童肥胖干预措施的目标是能量平衡的某个方面--要么减少卡路里消耗，要么增加体力活动。这些项目中的差距一直在影响整个在校期间的体育活动。动态教室--为学生使用偏向站立的工作站--是一种相对低成本、低投入的方法，可以被动地增加儿童在授课时间的体力活动，因为在这个年龄段，站立燃烧的卡路里比坐着多30%。站立或坐着的课桌允许学生自由站立或坐着，而不会在同学中造成干扰或显眼。这项充满活力的课堂研究旨在实现四个具体目标：目标1：加强社区利益攸关方对布拉索斯县与政策相关的儿童肥胖症研究的支持。目的2：测量一、二年级学生在两个学年中偏置式工作站增加卡路里消耗、降低体脂百分比(阻抗法)和体重指数的程度。目的3：研究站立/坐姿是否能提高学生的课堂表现，特别是行为投入和学业成绩。目标4：找出在课堂环境中促进或阻碍站立/坐式课桌实施和使用的因素。这项研究旨在检查健康和学术成果，以便向学校提供全面的信息，这些信息可能会影响学校、区、州和国家层面的政策。与NICHD的使命相关，这一干预措施有可能通过公立学校系统惠及绝大多数儿童，增强他们保持健康和在教育中取得成功的能力，并增加他们过上充实和富有成效的生活的机会。 与公共健康相关：儿童肥胖症是一个明显且日益严重的公共健康危机。在学校之外，影响儿童的健康行为是极其困难的，无论投入多少资源在这些努力上。提议的预防儿童肥胖的干预措施包括一个简单的环境改变，通过在教室中增加站立/坐站工作站，使教室偏向站立(而不是坐着)。对STAND/SIT工作站干预措施的有效性和可扩展性的评估将增加关于预防儿童肥胖的环境变化战略的证据基础，从而提高科学知识，并可能影响学校以及州和国家教育机构的新政策制定。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): According to the state demographer for Texas (Eschbach & Fonseca, 2009), childhood obesity has more than doubled in the past 20 years, and overweight/obesity rates for Texas fourth graders are twice the national average for fourth grade students. In addition, obesity rates for Latino and African American children in Texas are among the highest in the nation. This is problematic because 70 percent of overweight and obese youth become overweight and obese adults, which significantly increases the risk other chronic diseases. In Brazos County, Texas, a group of local stakeholders have identified and prioritized childhood obesity as a key community issue. These stakeholders have been loosely networked, and the current project will strengthen that network to build on resources and capacities to engage in policy-relevant research. Most school-based childhood obesity interventions target some aspect of energy balance-either reducing the calories consumed or increasing physical activity. The gap in those programs has been affecting physical activity during the entire school day. Dynamic classrooms-using stand-biased workstations for students-are a relatively low-cost, low-effort method of passively increasing children's physical activity during instructional time, as standing burns up to 30 percent more calories than sitting in children at this age. The stand/sit desks allow students to stand or sit at their discretion, without being disruptive or conspicuous among their classmates. The dynamic classroom study seeks to achieve four specific aims: AIM 1: To strengthen support of community stakeholders for policy-relevant childhood obesity research in Brazos County. AIM 2: To measure the degree to which stand-biased workstations increase calorie expenditure and reduce body fat percentage (impedance method) and body mass index in first and second grade students over the course of two academic years. AIM 3: To investigate whether stand/sit workstations improve students' classroom performance, specifically behavioral engagement and academic achievement. AIM 4: To identify factors that promote or inhibit the implementation and use of the stand/sit desks in classroom settings. The study seeks to examine health and academic outcomes in order to present comprehensive information to schools that has the potential to impact policy at the school, district, state, and national levels. Relevant to NICHD's mission, this intervention has the potential to reach the vast majority of children through the public school system, enhancing their ability to stay healthy and be successful in their education and increasing their chances of a full and productive life. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Childhood obesity is a clear and growing public health crisis. Outside of the school setting, affecting child health behaviors is extremely difficult, regardless of the resources invested in those efforts. The proposed intervention to prevent childhood obesity consists of a simple environmental change to bias the classroom toward standing (rather than sitting) by adding stand/sit workstations to classroom. Evaluation of the effectiveness and scalability of the stand/sit workstation intervention will improve scientific knowledge by increasing the evidence base regarding environmental change strategies to prevent childhood obesity and may impact new policy development for schools and state and national education agencies.