The Feeding Dynamic Intervention: Self Regulation of Intake in Preschoolers (FeeDIn)

Childhood obesity is a significant public health problem. In the last three decade, there has been a marked increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity. Currently, 23% of preschoolers (2-5 years) in the United States are overweight or obese, a critical period to target in hopes of reversing this trend. The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of a novel obesity intervention program for preschool-aged children. Emerging consensus indicates that excessive, intrusive, overt control in feeding or a chaotic non-structured feeding environment are risk factors for childhood obesity. The 2007 Expert Committee Recommendations on the Prevention, Assessment, and Treatment of Childhood Obesity specifically identified maternal feeding practices as important, categorically stating there is consistent evidence to support "avoiding overly restrictive feeding behaviors." The guidelines emerged from a growing body of literature indicating that overly controlling caregiver feeding behaviors, in particular, significantly increase children's obesity risk.

Despite the evidence for the importance of feeding dynamics, no childhood obesity interventions focused on this area have been rigorously tested. The Feeding Dynamic Intervention (FDI) is a 12-week educational intervention. The intervention will be delivered in a closed group setting and will consist of 6 intervention sessions lasting 90 minutes each. We will recruit 84 mothers with 3- to 5-year-old obese children, randomly assigned to either the FDI or a comparison to a waiting list control group (WLG). At the end of the 6 month study we will assess knowledge and behavioral changes between the groups on (i) maternal self-reported feeding practices; (ii) improving energy compensation (COMPX), decreasing Eating in the Absence of Hunger (EAH) and increasing mother-reported satiety responsiveness in their child. Finally, we will investigate an exploratory hypothesis that children in the FDI group, compared to children in the wait-list control group, will demonstrate a lower increase in body mass index (BMI) z-score over 6 months.