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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2012 Sep;55(3):188-95.
doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.06.005. Epub 2012 Jun 13.

Parent-focused change to prevent obesity in preschoolers: results from the KAN-DO study

Truls Østbye  1 , Katrina M Krause, Marissa Stroo, Cheryl A Lovelady, Kelly R Evenson, Bercedis L Peterson, Lori A Bastian, Geeta K Swamy, Deborah G West, Rebecca J N Brouwer, Nancy L Zucker
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Parent-focused change to prevent obesity in preschoolers: results from the KAN-DO study

Truls Østbye et al. Prev Med. 2012 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: The study presents the immediate post-intervention results of Kids and Adults Now - Defeat Obesity!, a randomized controlled trial to enhance healthy lifestyle behaviors in mother-preschooler (2-5 years old) dyads in North Carolina (2007-2011). The outcomes include change from baseline in the child's diet, physical activity and weight, and in the mother's parenting behaviors, diet, physical activity, and weight.

Method: The intervention targeted parenting through maternal emotion regulation, home environment, feeding practices, and modeling of healthy behaviors. 400 mother-child dyads were randomized.

Results: Mothers in the intervention arm, compared to the control arm, reduced instrumental feeding (-0.24 vs. 0.01, p<0.001) and TV snacks (-.069 vs. -0.24, p=0.001). There were also improvements in emotional feeding (p=0.03), mother's sugary beverage (p=0.03) and fruit/vegetable (p=0.04) intake, and dinners eaten in front of TV (p=0.01); these differences were not significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons.

Conclusion: KAN-DO, designed to maximize the capacity of mothers as agents of change, improved several channels of maternal influence. There were no group differences in the primary outcomes, but differences were observed in the parenting and maternal outcomes and there were trends toward improvement in the preschoolers' diets. Long-term follow-up will address whether these short-term trends ultimately improve weight status.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00563264.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflicts to report.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
KAN-DO intervention content Study conducted in the Triangle and Triad regions of North Carolina, U.S.A. 2007–2011.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CONSORT flow diagram Study conducted in the Triangle and Triad regions of North Carolina, U.S.A. 2007–2011.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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