Challenge!, a Health Promotion/ Obesity Prevention Program for Teens

Pediatric overweight is a major public health problem in the US, with the prevalence of overweight among children of all ages increasing dramatically over the past several decades. Interventions aimed at reducing the increased weight gain during adolescence have produced mixed results.

Challenge! is a randomized controlled trial for health promotion/ obesity prevention targeting low-income, urban, African American adolescents. Healthy adolescents were recruited from an urban medical center and from local middle schools. Weight status was not part of the inclusion criteria.

The intervention was home- and community-based and delivered one-on-one to each adolescent by a college-age "personal trainer". The intervention focused on goal-setting, consuming a healthy diet (increase fruits, vegetables, and water, and decrease high-fat snack and convenience foods), and increasing physical activity. We hypothesized that the teens enrolled in the intervention would have a healthier BMI-for-age z-score and a healthier body composition (body fat %) compared to those that did not receive the intervention over time. Additionally, we hypothesized that those enrolled in the intervention would consume healthier diets and have higher levels of physical activity compared to those that did not receive the intervention over time.