Evaluating a Mindful Eating Curriculum, "Savor the Flavor"

Evaluating a Mindful Eating Curriculum, "Savor the Flavor" to Promote Healthy Eating Among Head Start Preschool Children

The overall goal of this study is to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the feasibility and efficacy of the "Savor the Flavor" intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Eating Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Savor the Flavor

Detailed Description

The overall goal of this study is to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the feasibility and efficacy of the "Savor the Flavor" intervention. The goal of this curriculum is to teach children how to savor foods and slow down while eating by focusing on the sensory experience of eating. The intervention will also teach children attention control techniques so that they are better able to delay consumption of high energy, low nutrition foods, when appropriate.The study will also evaluate a modified version of the Eating in the Absence of Hunger task for use in a preschool classroom setting.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 49
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, 16802
      • Pennsylvania State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 2 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Child Inclusion Criteria:

• Child must be enrolled in a Head Start preschool center
• Child must be between the ages of 2 and 6 years old

Child Exclusion Criteria:

• Food allergy or restriction to foods included in protocol

Parent Inclusion Criteria:

• Parent or other primary caregiver of a child enrolled in the study
• 18 years of age or older
• English speaking

Parent Exclusion Criteria:

- None

Teacher Inclusion Criteria:

• Actively employed as an early childhood education provider in the Head Start classroom where intervention is delivered
• 18 years of age or older

Teacher Exclusion Criteria:

- None

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Savor the Flavor; The "Savor the Flavor" curriculum is a series of five interactive lessons designed to teach children how to savor foods and slow down while eating by focusing on the sensory experience of eating. The intervention also teaches attention control techniques so that children are better able to delay consumption of high energy, low nutrition foods, when appropriate, as well as general mindfulness practices (e.g. breathing exercises). Lessons are delivered in the Head Start classroom by a nutrition educator.

Behavioral: Savor the Flavor; A series of five interactive classroom lessons focused on mindfulness in eating.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in eating in the absence of hunger from pre to post intervention	Children will be given seven minutes of free access to a variety of palatable snacks and toys during a time when they are not hungry (e.g. after a meal). Intake of snacks is determined by pre and post weighing the foods.	Pre intervention and at conclusion of 5 week intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Recall of Savor the Flavor steps	Children will be asked to recall the five steps of "Savor the Flavor"	At conclusion of 5 week intervention
Acceptability of intervention	Teachers will complete a questionnaire with scaled and open-ended questions about the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention	At conclusion of 5 week intervention

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Child body mass index	Child height and weight will be measured and used to calculate body mass index (BMI). Age and sex specific BMI percentiles/z-scores will be calculated using CDC growth standards	Measured once at any time between enrollment and conclusion of 5 week intervention
Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire	Parents will complete the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire as part of a survey packet	Measured once at any time between enrollment and conclusion of 5 week intervention
Structure and Control in Parent Feeding	Parents will complete the Structure and Control in Parent Feeding as part of a survey packet	Measured once at any time between enrollment and conclusion of 5 week intervention
USDA Food Security questionnaire	Parents will complete the USDA food security questionnaire as part of a survey packet	Measured once at any time between enrollment and conclusion of 5 week intervention
External Food Responsiveness scale	Parents will complete the External Food Responsiveness Scale as part of a survey packet	Measured once at any time between enrollment and conclusion of 5 week intervention
Eating in the Absence of Hunger scale	Parents will complete the Eating in the Absence of Hunger Scale as part of a survey packet	Measured once at any time between enrollment and conclusion of 5 week intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Penn State University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jennifer S Savage, PhD, Penn State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 9, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 14, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): October 16, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 9, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 5, 2020
• Last Verified: June 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: obesity; children; eating; mindfullness; snacking
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00013064

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: De-identified individual participant data will be available from the principal investigator upon request.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data will be available after publication of primary outcomes.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Access requests will be evaluated and approved at the principal investigator's discretion.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; ANALYTIC_CODE; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No