Effects of an Early Childhood Intervention on Childhood Obesity

项目摘要/摘要 肥胖是21世纪的一大健康挑战，近三分之一的成年人和五分之一的成年人 美国儿童和青少年面临一系列健康问题的风险，包括2型糖尿病 和心血管疾病。儿童肥胖现在与儿童肥胖的更高可能性有关 成年期，这表明早期干预具有至关重要的作用。研究已经确定了许多早年生活因素 影响儿童肥胖症；然而，关于儿童早期计划(即学龄前) 会影响儿童肥胖症。为了解决这一关键的证据差距，该项目建立在现有的早期 儿童期研究--近1,500名3-4岁儿童被随机分配到幼儿期 项目或控制组-并衡量学前教育和家长项目对 儿童的饮食、活动和肥胖。回到现在6-10岁的儿童身上，我们会比较 幼儿计划小组和对照组，使用我们将收集的关于饮食、活动和肥胖的数据 到4年。我们的项目将评估三个新的调解人，这些调解人是这些计划的影响基础，具体来说 儿童的认知技能、他们的执行功能和相关技能以及父母的参与。我们的研究也 检查是否存在种族差异效应，比较这些计划对西班牙裔的影响， 非裔美国人和高加索儿童。了解幼儿教育对儿童健康的因果影响 肥胖对于制定旨在改善国民健康的公共政策至关重要，尤其是 关于公共提供学龄前教育的广泛辩论的政策。考虑到儿童肥胖率的上升和 在美国，健康结果的差异，有必要了解这种早期儿童 这些项目对肥胖也有影响。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Obesity is a major health challenge of the 21st century, putting nearly one-third of adults and one-fifth of children and adolescents in the United States at risk for a range of health problems, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Childhood obesity is now associated with a higher likelihood of obesity in adulthood, suggesting a vital role for early interventions. Research has identified a number of early life factors that affect childhood obesity; however, little is known about whether early childhood programs (i.e., preschool) affects childhood obesity. To address this critical evidence gap, this project builds upon an existing early childhood study — in which nearly 1,500 3-4 year-old children were randomly assigned to early childhood programs or to a control group — and measures the causal impact of preschool and parent programs on children’s diet, activity and obesity. Returning to the children who are now 6-10 years of age, we will compare early childhood program groups and control groups using data we will collect on diet, activity and obesity for up to 4 years. Our project will evaluate three new mediators underlying the effects of the programs, specifically children’s cognitive skills, their executive functions and related skills and parental involvement. Our study also examines whether there are differential effects by race, comparing the impact of the programs on Hispanic, African-American and Caucasian children. Understanding the causal impact of early childhood education on obesity is crucial for the development of public policies aimed at improving the health of the nation, particularly the widely debated policy on the public provision of preschool. Given the rise in childhood obesity and the disparities in health outcomes in the U.S., it is imperative to learn about whether such early childhood programs also have an impact on obesity.