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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #318522
Title: Fit5Kids TV reduction program and Latino preschoolers' TV viewing behaviors: A pilot cluster RCT

Author
item MENDOZA, JASON - Seattle Children'S Research Institute
item BARANOWSKI, TOM - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item JARAMILLO, SANDRA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item USCANGA, DORIS - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item HAALAND, WREN - Seattle Children'S Research Institute
item FESINMEYER, MEGAN - Seattle Children'S Research Institute
item Thompson, Deborah - Debbe
item NICKLAS, THERESA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2015
Publication Date: 4/25/2015
Citation: Mendoza, J.A., Baranowski, T., Jaramillo, S., Uscanga, D.K., Haaland, W., Fesinmeyer, M., Thompson, D.J., Nicklas, T.A. 2015. Fit5Kids TV reduction program and Latino preschoolers' TV viewing behaviors: A pilot cluster RCT [abstract]. Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting, April 25-28, 2015, San Diego, CA. Session 1165.2.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Excessive television (TV) viewing has been associated with a greater risk of childhood obesity. Latino children watch higher amounts of TV than their peers and are disproportionately affected by childhood obesity. Since TV viewing and obesity track from preschool into adolescence, early intervention is necessary to reduce obesity-related behaviors. Few interventions have successfully reduced Latino preschool children's TV viewing. Our objective was to evaluate the Fit5Kids TV reduction program's impact on Latino preschooler's TV viewing. We conducted a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) among Latino preschoolers in Head Start centers in Houston, USA. Randomization occurred at the school level and only one classroom at a center could participate in each wave of the study. Study staff taught Fit5Kids over 7-8 weeks. Individual-level outcomes were measured during the 1-2 weeks prior to the intervention (Time 1) and immediately following the intervention (Time 2). The primary outcome of average daily TV viewing was collected by validated 7-day TV diaries. We used a linear mixed effects model to estimate the association between the intervention and average TV minutes per day. Preschoolers (n=166) were nested within classrooms (n=12) that were nested within centers (n=6). The model included subject, classroom, and Head Start center as random effects. Intervention group, time, and a group×time interaction term were included as fixed effects. Intervention and control groups did not differ on socio-demographic characteristics, acculturation, and parental self-efficacy for limiting the child's TV viewing at Time 1. Intervention children decreased their mean daily TV viewing from 79.4 +/- 60.6 minutes at Time 1 to 53.4 +/- 43.5 minutes at Time 2, whereas control children decreased their mean daily TV viewing from 85.2 +/- 72.4 minutes at Time 1 to 83.7 +/- 66.4 minutes at Time 2. The relative difference for the decrease in mean daily TV viewing minutes from Time 1 to Time 2 was -25.8 [-45.3, -6.2] minutes for the intervention versus the control children (p=0.01). The Fit5Kids program significantly reduced Latino preschoolers' daily TV viewing in the short term. Further studies are necessary to test long term efficacy for reducing TV viewing and preventing obesity among larger samples of Latino preschoolers.