A Theater-Based Obesity Prevention Program for Children

描述(由申请人提供)：基于学校的干预措施具有极大的潜力，可以接触到来自不同种族、低收入背景的儿童，他们是肥胖的高危人群。然而，父母为他们的孩子提供了一个主要的影响来源，经验研究结果表明，家庭层面对基于学校的干预措施的参与度通常很低。形成性工作的结果表明，接触父母的一个好方法是邀请他们去看他们孩子的表演。拟议的R21研究的主要目的是研究创新的剧院计划的可行性，Ready。准备好了。行动！，向孩子和父母伸出援手。干预信息将基于儿童自己的经历，从而与儿童及其父母在个人和文化上相关。这项课外活动为期12周，将通过家庭食品和健身包、家庭挑战活动、健康饮食机会、学生制作的推广健康饮食和体育活动的音乐视频以及游戏表演等方式接触到家长。在该计划的密集部分之后，将有助推器课程，在这些课程中，儿童将进一步提高他们作为变革推动者的技能。需要检验的主要研究假设是，儿童及其父母/主要照顾者对计划的感知影响、计划参与度和计划满意度将很高。第二研究假设将成为未来R01提案的主要假设，即与控制条件下的儿童相比，干预条件下的儿童将显著降低他们的体重增加率，减少他们的能量摄入，并增加他们的能量消耗。项目影响将在12个月的时间内使用随机对照研究设计进行评估，其中有2所干预小学和2所对照小学，为低收入种族多样化人口服务。学习人数将包括100名学生，建议学习时间为两年。这项拟议的研究具有创新性，因为它利用戏剧作为接触小学年龄较大的儿童及其家庭的一种方式。这项研究的结果将为如何让家长参与以学校为基础的干预提供洞察力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): School-based interventions have great potential to reach children from ethnically diverse, low-income backgrounds who are at high risk for obesity. However, parents provide a major source of influence for their children, and empirical findings suggest that family level participation in school-based interventions is typically low. Results from formative work show that a good way to reach out to parents is by inviting them to a performance by their children. The primary aim of the proposed R21 study is to examine the feasibility of an innovative theater program, Ready. Set. ACTION!, that reaches out to children and parents. Intervention messages will be based on the children's own experiences and thus personally and culturally relevant to children and their parents. The after-school program will run for a 12-week period and will reach parents through home food and fitness packs, home challenge activities, healthy eating opportunities, music videos developed by the students promoting healthy eating and physical activity, and play performances. The intensive portion of the program will be followed by booster sessions in which children will further enhance their skills as agents of change. The primary research hypothesis to be tested is that perceived program impact, program participation, and program satisfaction will be high among children and their parents/primary caregivers. Secondary research hypotheses, which will become primary hypotheses of a future R01 proposal, are that children in the intervention condition will significantly decrease their rate of weight gain, decrease their energy intake, and increase their energy expenditure, as compared to children in the control condition. Program impact will be assessed over a 12-month period using a randomized controlled study design with 2 intervention and 2 control elementary schools serving low-income ethnically diverse populations. The study population will include 100 students and the proposed study period is two years. The proposed research is innovative due to its use of theater as a way to reach out to older elementary school children and their families. Results from this study will provide insight into how to engage parents in school- based interventions.