Summer Food Service Program

Evaluation and Enhancement of the Summer Food Service Program in Youth From an Urban, Low-resource Community

This pilot trial is designed to test the acceptability and preliminary efficacy of offering the BOKS program, an evidence-based physical activity curriculum that engages school-age children in moderate to vigorous physical activity for one hour daily, alongside the USDA's Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) during the summer. Eighty children, ages 6-12 years and from low-income households, will be randomized to participate in the BOKS + SFSP program or to the SFSP alone. We anticipate that the BOKS program will not only provide increased physical activity for the participants, but that it will help to promote participation in the SFSP given that it will be offered in the same location directly before the SFSP lunches are served.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Pediatric Obesity; Exercise
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: BOKS

Detailed Description

Youth from low-resource communities are disproportionately affected by childhood obesity, independent of race and ethnicity. A time of particular vulnerability for excess weight gain in low-income youth is the summer. Findings from three separate low-income populations show that BMI z-scores (BMIz) decrease during the school year and increase during the summer in this population. To address this and aid in national obesity prevention efforts, the Institute of Medicine and the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity recommend increased access to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), a federally-funded program that provides a free, healthy lunch meal to youth during the summer. However, participation in the SFSP is low. Based on qualitative work with families from low-income communities, this pilot trial is designed to test the acceptability and and preliminary efficacy of the BOKS program, an evidence-based physical activity curriculum that engages school-age children in moderate to vigorous physical activity for one hour daily, when offered alongside the USDA's Summer Food Service Program during the summer. Specifically, 80 children, ages 6-12 years and from low-income households, will be randomized to participate in the BOKS + SFSP program or to the SFSP alone. To test acceptability of the combined program versus the SFSP alone, we will compare SFSP participation (attendance) across groups. Additionally, we will examine physical fitness levels in both groups to determine if participation in the BOKS program prevents the loss of fitness gains achieved during the school year.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 43
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Rhode Island
    • Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02903
      • Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 6 years to 12 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Reside in the low-income, Rhode Island community where BOKS program is offered
• Quality for free meals as part of the NSLP, which is equivalent to a family of four having an annual income less than $43,568 in the state of Rhode Island.
• Ages 6-12 years
• Ability of the child to speak, read and write English (for purposes of the focus groups and intervention)
• Agreement to randomization

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to participate in routine physical activity

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: BOKS + SFSP; Children randomized to the BOKS + SFSP will be invited to attend the one-hour BOKS program four days per week for eight weeks during the summer. The BOKS program will be run by Lifespan employed staff in the hour before the SFSP lunch service at two community locations.	Behavioral: BOKS; BOKS is an evidence-based physical activity program developed by Reebok to get kids active and establish a lifelong commitment to health and fitness. It was originally developed and tested as a 12-week program offered before or after school. In the present study, BOKS will be offered four days per week for eight weeks over the summer at a public park in one low-income community. The program will run one-hour prior to lunch service by the USDA's Summer Food Service Program. The BOKS curriculum includes lesson plans for 40-45 minute classes that follow the same daily format and focus on a functional fitness skill of the week (squat, plank, push up, etc) and engage participants in team-oriented games.
No Intervention: SFSP; Children randomized to the SFSP alone group will be asked to participate in the SFSP as they would have otherwise.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Acceptability of the BOKS + SFSP Programs	Attendance in the SFSP	8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Respiratory Fitness	Pacer Test	8 weeks
Excess Summer Weight gain	Change in BMIz	8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The Miriam Hospital
• Collaborators: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 14, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 27, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): September 30, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 3, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 3, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): September 10, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 10, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 3, 2020
• Last Verified: September 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Physical Activity; Health disparities; Summer
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Overweight; Body Weight; Obesity; Pediatric Obesity
• Other Study ID Numbers: 207716

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

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