Healthy Buddies Manitoba

Healthy Buddies Manitoba: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Effectiveness Trial of Peer Mentoring for Healthy Eights in Children.

School-based interventions are generally ineffective for preventing weight gain in children. In 2007, a group from the University of British Columbia, developed a program called Healthy Buddies, that relied on peer mentors to help young children adopt healthy living behaviours. Pilot studies revealed that the program effectively prevented weight gain in children. This trial had never been tested on a large scale using a more scientifically sound study design. We developed a large school-based randomized trial to overcome that limitation and test the hypothesis that that a school-based peer-led healthy living program would reduce adiposity and increase physical activity among children 6-12yrs old.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy Children; Elementary School Age; Rural and Urban; First Nations
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Healthy Buddies Curriculum

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 647
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Manitoba
    • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3E 3P4
      • Manitoba Institute of Child Health - University of Manitoba

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 7 years to 12 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participating schools need to meet the following eligibility criteria: (1) were within provincial jurisdiction, (2) had a minimum of 200 students per school, (3) offered grades 1 through 6.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children will be excluded if consent was not received from parents or if they had a condition that limited participation in physical activity.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Healthy Buddies Curriculum; Healthy buddies curriculum delivered by older peers weekly covering three components of healthy living: Physical activity, healthy eating and a healthy body image.	Other: Healthy Buddies Curriculum; Each week, intermediate students will receive a 45-minute healthy-living lesson plan from their classroom teacher. Later that week, intermediate students will serve as peer mentors ("Buddies"), teaching a 30-minute lesson to their younger students. The Physical activity (i.e."Go Move!") component of the lesson plans includes 30-minutes of structured aerobic fitness sessions, called fitness loops, with the student pairs twice weekly. The dietary ("Go Fuel!") component includes lessons about distinguishing nutritious and from unhealthy (nutrient poor-energy rich) foods and beverages. The body image ("Go Feel Good!") component, the students are taught to value classmates based on individual traits rather than peer influence.
No Intervention: Control; This group received standard school curriculum.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Waist circumference	Waist circumference at the top of the iliac crest measured in duplicate with a flexible tape.	10 months
BMI-Z score	Body mass index Z score is calculated from weight/height2 and normalized to population normative data for age (months) and sex.	10 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physical activity	Objectively measured using daily pedometer counts recorded by teachers.	10 months
Healthy living knowledge and behaviours	Questionnaires regarding healthy foods and food frequency.	10 months
Self efficacy	Questionnaire.	10 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Manitoba
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Rob Santos, PhD, Healthy Child Manitoba; Study Director: Jon McGavock, PhD, Manitoba Institute of Child Health

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Nickel NC, Doupe M, Enns JE, Brownell M, Sarkar J, Chateau D, Burland E, Chartier M, Katz A, Crockett L, Azad MB, McGavock JM, Santos R. Differential effects of a school-based obesity prevention program: A cluster randomized trial. Matern Child Nutr. 2021 Jan;17(1):e13009. doi: 10.1111/mcn.13009. Epub 2020 Aug 20.
• Santos RG, Durksen A, Rabbanni R, Chanoine JP, Lamboo Miln A, Mayer T, McGavock JM. Effectiveness of peer-based healthy living lesson plans on anthropometric measures and physical activity in elementary school students: a cluster randomized trial. JAMA Pediatr. 2014 Apr;168(4):330-7. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.3688. Erratum In: JAMA Pediatr. 2015 Jan;169(1):96.

Helpful Links

• Intervention Website

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 2009
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 1, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 1, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): November 8, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): November 8, 2013
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 1, 2013
• Last Verified: October 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: H2009:205