Improving Primary Care to Prevent Childhood Obesity

To determine the extent to which a clinical intervention based on the Chronic Care Model (CCM), compared with the usual care control condition, results in a smaller age-associated increase in body mass index (BMI) over a 1 year intervention (primary outcome) and a 1 1/2-year follow-up period.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Overweight in the preschool age group is prevalent, increasing, and of consequence. During the last 30 years in the U.S., the prevalence of overweight among youth has dramatically increased. Overweight in young children is associated with later overweight, with childhood conditions such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and type II diabetes, and with higher morbidity and mortality in adulthood.

Along with the long-term risks associated with overweight in the preschool age group, there come unique opportunities to intervene and alter the subsequent course of health and disease for these individuals. These regular visits allow both detection of elevated BMI levels and opportunities for intervention.

The overall goal of this research is to assess a comprehensive, innovative, primary care practice change intervention to prevent obesity among children age 2 through 5 years at elevated risk of obesity. To achieve this goal, we will conduct a cluster-randomized controlled trial in 10 pediatric practices of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, a large multi-site group practice in eastern Massachusetts with a track record of research collaboration.

We will randomize five health centers to the intervention condition, and five health centers to the control (usual care) condition. The intervention will consist of state-of-the-science approaches to changing dietary, activity, and inactivity behaviors among the children.

The intervention period will be 1 year, followed by a 1 1/2 year maintenance follow-up period. Frequency of visits will be every 6 weeks for the first 6 months, and every 6 months after that. Participating families will complete a telephone-administered interview at baseline and all follow-up timepoints. There will be 3 types of measurements: 1) measurements made by the clinical staff that will also be used for outcomes in the research study (only height and weight); 2) measurements made by clinicians for feedback during counseling sessions, which will not be used for study outcomes; and 3) measurements made by the research staff for study outcomes and processes.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

500

Phase

  • Phase 2
  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States
        • Recruiting
        • Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

2 years to 6 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 2.0 through 5.9 years receiving primary care in a multi-site group practice
  • BMI > 95th percentile for age and sex, or 85th - 95th percentile if at least one parent is overweight

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Child currently enrolled in a formal weight management program
  • Child is in foster care
  • Chronic conditions that may limit our ability to measure height and weight or that may interfere with their growth, physical activity, or dietary recommendations

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: Double

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Body mass index (BMI) at 1 year.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Television viewing behaviors at 1 year post intervention.
Sugar-sweetened beverages intake at 1 year post intervention.
Fast food intake at 1 year post intervention.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Matthew Gillman, MD, Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention/Harvard Pilgrim Health Care/ Harvard Medical School

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 2006

Study Completion

September 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 15, 2006

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 15, 2006

First Posted (Estimate)

September 18, 2006

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

September 18, 2006

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 15, 2006

Last Verified

September 1, 2006

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R01HD050966 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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