A randomized pilot trial of an integrated school-worksite weight control program. 2014

Laura M Anderson, and Emilia D Symoniak, and Leonard H Epstein
School of Nursing, University at Buffalo.

OBJECTIVE Worksite provision of paid time off for parent participation in a school-based healthy weight program may improve treatment adherence and outcomes. The current pilot study examined whether parents who received worksite support for attendance at a school-based healthy weight program would attend more sessions, lose more weight, and make healthier changes in home food environments than parents who did not receive worksite support. METHODS Thirty-eight urban, low-income African American and Mexican American mothers of kindergartners were randomized to an integrated school-parent-worksite program that targeted healthy home food environments and energy balance self-monitoring or the identical school-based program without worksite support. Ten sessions were delivered to parent participants during afterschool hours. Process measures included session attendance and energy balance log completion. Outcome measures included parent body mass index (BMI) change, child BMI z-score change, and home food inventory (HFI) score changes over 12 months. RESULTS RESULTS showed better weight change for parents (i.e., BMI unit reduction of 1.4 vs. 0.3 in comparison group, p = .001), increased parental attendance, and improvements in the home food environment when parents received paid time off from their worksite for their participation in the healthy weight program. Child weight change was also observed despite no direct contact with children. CONCLUSIONS The current pilot study provides support for the hypothesis that worksite support for school-based interventions may improve health outcomes that depend on parental involvement. Removing barriers to attendance in a healthy weight program resulted in improved treatment adherence and outcomes in low-income, minority parents and children.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D009035 Mothers Female parents, human or animal. Mothers' Clubs,Club, Mothers',Clubs, Mothers',Mother,Mother Clubs,Mother's Clubs,Mothers Clubs,Mothers' Club
D009765 Obesity A status with BODY WEIGHT that is grossly above the recommended standards, usually due to accumulation of excess FATS in the body. The standards may vary with age, sex, genetic or cultural background. In the BODY MASS INDEX, a BMI greater than 30.0 kg/m2 is considered obese, and a BMI greater than 40.0 kg/m2 is considered morbidly obese (MORBID OBESITY).
D010865 Pilot Projects Small-scale tests of methods and procedures to be used on a larger scale if the pilot study demonstrates that these methods and procedures can work. Pilot Studies,Pilot Study,Pilot Project,Project, Pilot,Projects, Pilot,Studies, Pilot,Study, Pilot
D011203 Poverty A situation in which the level of living of an individual, family, or group is below the standard of the community. It is often related to a specific income level. Federal Poverty Level,Federal Poverty Threshold,Indigency,Low-Income Population,Absolute Poverty,Extreme Poverty,Indigents,Low Income Population,Federal Poverty Levels,Indigent,Level, Federal Poverty,Low Income Populations,Low-Income Populations,Population, Low Income,Population, Low-Income,Poverty Level, Federal,Poverty Threshold, Federal,Poverty, Absolute,Poverty, Extreme
D001741 Black or African American A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/1997/10/30/97-28653/revisions-to-the-standards-for-the classification-of-federal-data-on-race-and-ethnicity). In the United States it is used for classification of federal government data on race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity terms are self-identified social construct and may include terms outdated and offensive in MeSH to assist users who are interested in retrieving comprehensive search results for studies such as in longitudinal studies. African American,African Americans,African-American,Afro-American,Afro-Americans,Black Americans,Blacks,Negroes,African-Americans,Negro,Afro American,Afro Americans,American, African,American, Black,Black American
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D004651 Employment The state of being engaged in an activity or service for wages or salary. Employment Termination,Employment Status,Labor Force,Occupational Status,Status, Occupational,Underemployment,Labor Forces,Status, Employment,Termination, Employment
D005260 Female Females

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