Aim High: Readiness & Meeting the Standards in Military Pre-Recruits

The primary objective of the proposed study is to complete a comprehensive needs assessment of the Louisiana National Guard (LANG) Youth Challenge Program (YCP) in the YCP leadership and junior cadet population related to nutrition, fitness, sleep, and mental health and resilience. Results of this needs assessment will further inform the development of the intervention skills training program.

The secondary objective of this work is to provide a scalable, integrated physical and mental optimization training program that would be integrated into relevant systems and maintained over time as a core tool for young individuals readying themselves to join the Army. The program would include an environmental intervention approach as well as nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and stress reduction/positive coping guidance.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Health Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Cadet Health

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 100
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Nicole Wesley; Phone Number: 2257632721; Email: nicole.wesley@pbrc.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Louisiana
    • Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, 70808
      • Recruiting
      • Pennington Biomedical Research Center
      • Contact: Nicole Y Wesley; Phone Number: 2257632771; Email: nicole.wesley@pbrc.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Must be either staff, cadre, or cadets in the YCP program.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not staff, cadre, or cadets in the YCP program.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• 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: Aim High Program; Integrated physical and mental optimization training program used as tool for young individuals readying themselves to join the military	Behavioral: Cadet Health; Integrated physical and mental optimization training program used as tool for young individuals readying themselves to join the military

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Height	Height for BMI calculations	16 Months
Weight	Weight for BMI calculations	16 Months
Body Fat	Body Fat % to determine change pre/post program	16 Months
Depression	Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents (PHQ-8A) to determine change pre/post program; Scores range from 0 to 24, with a higher score meaning higher levels of depressive symptomology	16 Months
Anxiety	Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener (GAD7) to determine change pre/post program; Score range from 0 to 21, with higher scores meaning higher levels of anxiety	16 Months
Body Esteem	Body Esteem Scale for Adolescent and Adults (BESAA) to determine change pre/post program; scores range from 0 to 92, with higher scores meaning higher levels of body esteem.	16 Months
Coping	Brief COPE; 14 facets of coping skills are assessed and can be consolidated into approach and avoidant coping strategies, with higher scores indicating higher levels of that particular coping strategy	16 Months
Perceived Stress	Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); Scores range from 0 to 40, with higher scores meaning higher levels of perceived stress	16 Months
Eating Competence	Eating Competence Scale (ecSatter); Scores range from 0 to 48, with higher scores meaning better competence around eating behaviors	16 Months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Knowledge & Attitudes	General Questionnaire to assess uptake of knowledge presented in the program; Higher scores will indicate higher levels of understanding of key program concepts	16 Months
Program Satisfaction	Questionnaire to determine program acceptability; Higher scores indicate higher satisfaction with program content and delivery	16 Months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 17, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 15, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 15, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 19, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 9, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): January 18, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 4, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 26, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Health Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: PBRC 2023-074

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
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No