Camp NERF: Methods of a Summer Nutrition Ed Rec & Fitness Program to Prevent Unhealthy Weight Gain in Children

September 19, 2016 updated by: Carolyn Gunther, Ohio State University

Camp NERF: Methods of a Theory-Based Nutrition Education Recreation and Fitness Program Aimed at Preventing Unhealthy Weight Gain in Underserved Elementary Children During Summer Months

The primary aims of this research project are to:

  1. Evaluate the efficacy of Camp NERF to improve child nutrition, physical activity, mental health, and anthropometric outcomes.
  2. Evaluate the efficacy of Camp NERF to improve caregiver self-efficacy for establishing healthy family nutrition and physical activity practices, amount of physical activity, and BMI.
  3. Evaluate the efficacy of Camp NERF to improve youth mentor nutrition, physical activity, and anthropometric outcomes.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Background: The number of obese children in the US remains high, which is problematic due to the mental, physical, and academic effects of obesity on child health. Data indicate that school-age children, particularly underserved children, experience unhealthy gains in BMI at a rate nearly twice as fast during the summer months. Few efforts have been directed at implementing evidence-based programming to prevent excess weight gain during the summer recess.

Methods: Camp NERF is an 8-week, multi-component (nutrition, physical activity, and mental health), theory-based program for underserved school-age children in grades Kindergarten - 5th grade coupled with the USDA Summer Food Service Program. Twelve eligible elementary school sites will be randomized to one of the three programming groups: 1) Active Control (non-nutrition, physical activity, or mental health [4H curricula]); 2) Standard Care (nutrition and physical activity); or 3) Enhanced Care (nutrition, physical activity, and mental health) programming. Anthropometric, behavioral, and psychosocial data will be collected from child-caregiver dyads pre- and post-intervention. Site-specific characteristics and process evaluation measures will also be collected.

Discussion: This is the first, evidence-based intervention to address the issue of weight gain during the summer months among underserved, school-aged children. Results from this study will provide researchers, practitioners, and public health professionals with insight on evidence-based programming to aid in childhood obesity prevention during this particular window of risk.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

87

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

4 years to 12 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria (site level):

  • Elementary school; USDA Summer Food Service Program open site; and 3) lacking structured programming

Exclusion Criteria:

-

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: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Active Control
Active Control: exposure to a non-nutrition, physical activity, or mental health curriculum/program
Behavioral: Active Control
8-week (non-nutrition, physical activity or mental health) summer curriculum/program
Active Comparator: Standard Care
Standard Care: exposure to a nutrition and physical activity curriculum/program
Behavioral: Standard Care
8-week (nutrition and physical activity) summer curriculum/program
Experimental: Enhanced Care
Enhanced Care: exposure to a nutrition, physical activity, and mental health curriculum/program
Behavioral: Enhanced Care
8-week (nutrition, physical activity, and mental health) summer curriculum/program

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in child BMI z-score
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Baseline and 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Ohio State University

Collaborators

Aetna Foundation

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Carolyn W Gunther, PhD, Ohio State University

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.

General Publications

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

May 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 16, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 16, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

September 20, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

September 21, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 19, 2016

Last Verified

September 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2014B0197

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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