Effectiveness of a Church-Based Program at Increasing Physical Activity and Healthy Dietary Habits in African Americans

April 26, 2021 updated by: Sara Wilcox, University of South Carolina

A Partnership to Promote Physical Activity and Healthy Eating in AME Churches

Obese African Americans are at risk for diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Church-based interventions have the potential to positively influence the health habits and behaviors of a large percentage of African Americans. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a church-based program that emphasizes increased physical activity and healthy dietary habits among members of predominately African American churches in South Carolina.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Many obesity-related diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, occur more frequently in ethnic minorities than in Caucasians. African Americans have an extremely high church attendance rate, making church-based interventions a viable method to reach a wide audience and positively influence health habits and behaviors. The most effective way to prevent or reverse the effects of obesity is through weight loss, which can be accomplished by increasing physical activity and following a low fat and low sodium diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Few programs have been developed that have specifically examined the effects of a church-based physical activity and dietary intervention. This study will encourage church leaders to assist in the development of a health promotion program that will incorporate the church's social, cultural, and policy influences. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on increasing physical activity, improving blood pressure levels, and promoting healthy dietary habits among church members. The importance of pastor support and participation will be evaluated, and the results from this study may be used to develop additional church-based interventions across a larger geographic area.

In Year 1 of this 5-year study, representatives from the Palmetto Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and three state universities in South Carolina will participate in monthly planning sessions to develop the intervention. Local health committees and church pastors and cooks will be trained to implement the program. The 18-month intervention will occur in three waves; where at least 60 churches will be randomly assigned to participate in either the immediate intervention or delayed intervention. The program will emphasize increased physical activity and the adaptation of a healthy diet that includes low fat and low sodium foods, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. At baseline and Month 18, blood pressure will be measured, and physical activity levels and fruit and vegetable intake will be assessed for some church members. Additionally, throughout the study, some participants will wear an accelerometer, which is a small device that measures physical activity levels.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

1600

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

    • South Carolina
      • Lane, South Carolina, United States, 29564
        • African Methodist Episcopal Churches in South Carolina

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

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Member of a church in the Palmetto Conference of the 7th Episcopal District of the AME Church
  • Attends church services or events at least once per month

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Planning to move in the 18 months following study entry

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: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Behavioral
Participants will take part in the Physical Activity and Dietary Health Promotion Program.
Churches within the intervention group will receive a committee training and church cook training designed to teach them how to do a self-assessment of current practices and develop a plan for their program. The intervention is based on the structural model of health behavior and targets opportunities, mass media (within the church), guidelines and policies, and church environment. Intervention churches also receive monthly intervention mailings to support intervention implementation.
No Intervention: Delayed intervention
Participants are assigned to a delayed intervention group and serve as a no-intervention control group.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Blood pressure
Time Frame: 15 months
Systolic and diastolic blood pressure
15 months
Physical activity (measured with the Community Healthy Activities Model Program For Seniors [CHAMPS] questionnaire)
Time Frame: 15 months
Self-report measure of physical activity
15 months
Fruit and vegetable consumption (measured with NCI screener & 2-item measure)
Time Frame: 15 months
self-report measure of physical activity
15 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Physical activity (measured with an accelerometer)
Time Frame: 15 months
Accelerometer measured physical activity
15 months
Fat consumption
Time Frame: 15 months
Self-reported measure of practices associated with fat consumption
15 months
Fiber consumption
Time Frame: 15 months
Self-reported measure of practices associated with fiberconsumption
15 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sara Wilcox, PhD, University of South Carolina

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

July 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 22, 2006

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 22, 2006

First Posted (Estimate)

September 25, 2006

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 28, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 26, 2021

Last Verified

April 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Pro00005414
  • R01HL083858 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • R01HL083858-01 (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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