@article{b0b69f6bec09488695e0762a19fb9f42,
title = "A community-based obesity prevention program for minority children: Rationale and study design for Hip-Hop to Health Jr.",
abstract = "Background. The increasing prevalence of overweight among children in the United States presents a national health priority. Higher rates of overweight/obesity among minority women place their children at increased risk. Although increased rates of overweight are observed in 4- to 5-year-old children, they are not observed in 2- to 3-year-old children. Therefore, early prevention efforts incorporating families are critical. Methods. The primary aim of Hip-Hop to Health Jr. is to alter the trajectory toward overweight/obesity among preschool African-American and Latino children. This 5-year randomized intervention is conducted in 24 Head Start programs, where each site is randomized to either a 14-week dietary/physical activity intervention or a general health intervention. Results. This paper presents the rationale and design of the study. Efficacy of the intervention will be determined by weight change for the children and parent/caretaker. Secondary measures include reductions in dietary fat and increases in fiber, fruit/vegetable intake, and physical activity. Baseline data will be presented in future papers. Conclusions. The problem of overweight/obesity is epidemic in the United States. Behaviors related to diet and physical activity are established early in life and modeled by family members. Early intervention efforts addressing the child and family are needed to prevent obesity later in life. This paper describes a comprehensive, family-oriented obesity prevention program for minority preschool children.",
keywords = "African-American, Child health, Latino, Minorities, Obesity, Prevention",
author = "Fitzgibbon, {Marian L.} and Stolley, {Melinda R.} and Dyer, {Alan R.} and Linda VanHorn and Katherine KauferChristoffel",
note = "Funding Information: 1 Supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Grant R01 HL58871 to Dr. Marian Fitzgibbon. Funding Information: Hip-Hop to Health Jr. is an obesity prevention program for preschool minority children funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The program is modeled after Hip-Hop to Health, a community-based cardiovascular risk reduction program that was conducted with 6-to 10-year-old African-American children and their families [1,2]. Hip-Hop to Health Jr. is also community-based and is conducted within Head Start programs in the Chicagoland area. The primary aim of Hip-Hop to Health Jr. is to alter the trajectory toward overweight/obesity in African-American and Latino preschool children. The 14-week intervention presents a developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate integrated dietary/physical activity curriculum that targets preschoolers, while also including a parent component that addresses the dietary and physical activity patterns of the family. Although research has shown that eating and exercise patterns can be changed in individuals and families [3±8], little is known about the long-term effects of an early intervention program for preschool minority children. The critical question we address is, ªCan we advance the science of obesity prevention by intervening early with an intensive program that will positively affect the weight status of a sample of preschool minority children?º Given that prevention is considered the best strategy for decreasing the rates of childhood obesity [9], the success of our intervention will be determined by the degree to which participants sustain changes over the longer term (i.e., at 12 and 24 months) and avoid obesity later in life. The current paper presents the rationale and design of the study.",
year = "2002",
doi = "10.1006/pmed.2001.0977",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "34",
pages = "289--297",
journal = "Preventive Medicine",
issn = "0091-7435",
publisher = "Academic Press Inc.",
number = "2",
}
