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Comparative Study
. 2016 Jan;24(1):191-9.
doi: 10.1002/oby.21314. Epub 2015 Dec 6.

Randomized trial of a prevention intervention that embeds weight-related messages within a general parenting program

Jess Haines  1 , Sheryl L Rifas-Shiman  2 , Deborah Gross  3 , Julia McDonald  4 , Ken Kleinman  2 , Matthew W Gillman  2
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Randomized trial of a prevention intervention that embeds weight-related messages within a general parenting program

Jess Haines et al. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the extent to which an obesity prevention intervention that embeds obesity-related messages within a parenting program, compared with controls who received weekly mailings, resulted in a smaller increase in children's BMI (primary outcome) and improvements in weight-related behaviors from baseline to 9-month follow-up.

Methods: Fifty-six families were randomly assigned to the intervention and 56 to control. Children were primarily Hispanic (58%) or Black/African American (23%). Intervention included nine weekly: group parenting sessions, children's sessions, and homework assignments. At baseline, post-intervention, and 9-month follow-up, staff assessed children's weight and height. Parents completed surveys assessing parenting skills, feeding behaviors, and children's weight-related behaviors.

Results: From baseline to 9-month follow-up, BMI decreased by a mean of 0.13 kg m(-2) among children in the intervention and increased by 0.21 kg m(-2) among children in the control, resulting in a nonsignificant difference (multivariate adjusted difference = -0.36; 95% confidence interval [CI] -1.23, 0.51; P = 0.41). Parents in the intervention decreased restrictive feeding practices relative to control (-0.30; 95% CI -0.53, -0.07; P = 0.01). Intervention and control arms showed similar changes in children's weight-related behaviors.

Conclusions: The intervention improved restrictive feeding but did not influence children's BMI or weight-related behaviors compared to controls who received weekly mailings.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant Flow for the Parents and Tots Together intervention study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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