Parents and Tots Together: A Family-Based Obesity Prevention Intervention (PTT)

Parents and Tots Together: A Family-Based Intervention to Promote Healthy Eating and Activity Behaviors Among Preschool Children

The obesity epidemic has spared no age group, including our youngest children. My and others' formative research shows that ethnically-diverse, low-income parents of young children are enthusiastic about learning general parenting skills, such as discipline strategies, but less interested in nutrition and physical activity. To capitalize on this enthusiasm, I will create and test an intervention that embeds strategies to improve child weight-related behaviors within a general skills parenting program.

The overall goal of this study is to assess Parents and Tots Together (PTT), a family-based intervention to prevent obesity among children age 2 through 5 years. To achieve this goal, my colleagues and I will conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) among ethnically diverse, primarily low-income families. Our specific aims are to:

1. Determine the extent to which the intervention, compared with a control condition, results in a smaller age-associated increase in body mass index (BMI) among children after a 3- month intervention and a 9-month follow-up period (primary outcome).

2. Determine the extent to which the intervention, compared with a control condition, results in:

   1. Improved parent general parenting behaviors, i.e., increased use of positive discipline strategies.
   2. Improved parent feeding practices, i.e., increased responsiveness to child satiety cues.
   3. Improved child weight-related behaviors, i.e., increased sleep duration and physical activity, and reduced sugar-sweetened beverage intake and television/video viewing.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Obesity
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Parents and Tots Together Program; Behavioral: Control

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 112
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
      • Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

Participation Criteria

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:

• parents who have a child aged 2-5 years
• respond to interviews and questionnaires in English or Spanish

Exclusion Criteria:

• any families who plan to move during the study period
• children or parents with severe health conditions that would prohibit them from participating in study activities

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: Parents and Tots Together Program; 9-week group-based parenting program	Behavioral: Parents and Tots Together Program; Group-based parenting program, 9 sessions offered weekly
Active Comparator: Control; Minimal attention control- weekly mailed information on general child development for 9 weeks	Behavioral: Control; Minimal attention control- 9 weekly mailed information on general child development

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Change in body mass index (BMI), adjusted for age and gender	baseline, post-intervention, 9-month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Change in parent general parenting behaviors, i.e., use of positive discipline strategies.	baseline, post-intervention, 9-month follow-up
Change in child weight-related behaviors, i.e., sleep duration and physical activity, and sugar-sweetened beverage intake and television/video viewing.	baseline, post-intervention, 9-month follow-up
Change in parental feeding behaviors, i.e., controlling feeding practices	baseline, post-intervention, 9-month follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Guelph
• Collaborators: Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM); Johns Hopkins University; American Heart Association

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): October 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 20, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 20, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): August 21, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): August 21, 2014
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 20, 2014
• Last Verified: August 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Overweight; Body Weight; Obesity
• Other Study ID Numbers: 190331-41