Intergenerational Research on Obesity Prevention: From Correlates to Intervention

简介（由申请人提供）：Bernard F. Fuemmeler博士，公共卫生硕士，杜克大学医学中心助理教授。他寻求职业发展的支持，成为一个完全独立的研究者在行为癌症预防和人口科学。他接受过临床儿科心理学和一般公共卫生/流行病学的培训，他的近期目标是获得以下方面的额外培训：1)儿童肥胖流行病学和预防，2)纵向数据分析，3)定量调查发展的定性方法，以及4)行为癌症预防干预发展。他的长期目标是推进健康促进的代际理论和模型，特别是与预防体重增加有关的理论和模型，并研究基于这些概念的干预措施对长期行为改变的影响。这些短期和长期目标将通过教学、指导阅读和具有这些领域专业知识的委员会的指导来实现。提出了三个阶段的相互关联的研究，以解决目前在以家庭为基础的体重增加预防文献中的空白。第一阶段将使用来自全国青少年健康纵向调查（Add Health）的数据，调查一般父母和家庭因素对青少年过渡到青年期身体质量指数（BMI）变化的关系。第二阶段采用定性方法开展定量调查，以审查亲子交流和养育做法与健康饮食习惯和体育活动之间的关系。第三阶段旨在开发和测试使用量身定制的沟通方法的原型干预的可接受性，以改善父母及其青春期前儿童的家庭和家庭体重管理行为。这些研究的结果将为代际模型和干预策略的发展提供信息，这些模型和干预策略不仅适用于预防体重增加，而且也可用于其他癌症预防和控制领域（例如，代际对皮肤癌预防、烟草预防或儿童癌症幸存者的治疗依从性的影响）。计划的科学培训和专家指导将使候选人填补行为癌症预防和控制的空缺，成为一名独立的研究者。这项研究计划与NCI在能量平衡方面的战略目标（例如，能量与癌症的跨学科研究）以及NIH的肥胖工作组保持一致。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Bernard F. Fuemmeler, Ph.D., M.P.H. is Assistant Professor at Duke University Medical Center. He seeks support for career development to become a fully independent investigator in behavioral cancer prevention and the population sciences. Trained in clinical pediatric psychology and general public health/epidemiology, he has the immediate goals of acquiring additional training in 1) childhood obesity epidemiology and prevention, 2) longitudinal data analysis, 3) qualitative methods for quantitative survey development, and 4) behavioral cancer preventive intervention development. His long-term goal is to advance intergenerational theories and models of health promotion, specifically related to weight gain prevention, and to study the impact that interventions based on these concepts have on long-term behavioral change. These short and long-term goals will be accomplished through didactics, directed readings, and mentorship from a committee with expertise in these areas. Three phases of inter-related research relevant to addressing current gaps in the literature on family-based weight gain prevention are proposed. Phase 1 will investigate the relation that general parental and family factors have on change in Body Mass Index (BMI) as adolescents transition into young adulthood using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Phase 2 involves qualitative methods to develop a quantitative survey to examine the relation that parent-child communication and parenting practices have on healthy dietary practices and physical activity. Phase 3 aims to develop and test acceptability of a prototype intervention using tailored communication approaches for improving family and home weight management behaviors for parents and their preadolescent children. The results from these studies will inform the development of intergenerational models and intervention strategies that not only apply to weight gain prevention, but could also be useful in other areas of cancer prevention and control (e.g., intergenerational effects on skin-cancer prevention, tobacco prevention, or treatment compliance among childhood cancer survivors). The planned scientific training and expert mentorship will position the candidate to fill this niche in behavioral cancer prevention and control and to become and independent investigator. This research proposal is aligned with NCI's strategic goals in energy balance (e.g., Transdisciplinary Research on Energetic and Cancer) and the NIH's Obesity Task Force.