A Pilot Study of Parent Mentors for Early Childhood Obesity

Objective. To assess the feasibility of a parent mentor model of intervention for early childhood obesity using positive deviance-based methods to inform the intervention. Methods. In this pilot, randomized clinical trial, parent-child dyads (age: 2–5) with children whose body mass index (BMI) was ≥...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Byron A. Foster, Christian A. Aquino, Mario Gil, Jonathan A. L. Gelfond, Daniel E. Hale
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:Journal of Obesity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/2609504
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Summary:Objective. To assess the feasibility of a parent mentor model of intervention for early childhood obesity using positive deviance-based methods to inform the intervention. Methods. In this pilot, randomized clinical trial, parent-child dyads (age: 2–5) with children whose body mass index (BMI) was ≥95th percentile were randomized to parent mentor intervention or community health worker comparison. The child’s height and weight were measured at baseline, after the six-month intervention, and six months after the intervention. Feasibility outcomes were recruitment, participation, and retention. The primary clinical outcome was BMI z-score change. Results. Sixty participants were enrolled, and forty-eight completed the six-month intervention. At baseline, the BMI z-score in the parent mentor group was 2.63 (SD = 0.65) and in the community health worker group it was 2.61 (SD = 0.89). For change in BMI z-score over time, there was no difference by randomization group at the end of the intervention: −0.02 (95% CI: −0.26, 0.22). At the end of the intervention, the BMI z-score for the parent mentor group was 2.48 (SD = 0.58) and for the community health worker group it was 2.45 (SD = 0.91), both reduced from baseline, p<0.001. Conclusion. The model of a parent mentor clinical trial is feasible, and both randomized groups experienced small, sustained effects on adiposity in an obese, Hispanic population.
ISSN:2090-0708
2090-0716