Family TXT: A mHealth obesity prevention program for parents of pre-adolescent African American girls

Authors: CALLENDER, CHISHINGA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); Thompson, Deborah - Debbe

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/29/2022
Publication Date: 9/8/2022
Citation: Callender, C., Thompson, D.J. 2022. Family TXT: A mHealth obesity prevention program for parents of pre-adolescent African American girls [abstract]. Digital Physical Activity and Diet (dPAD) Collaborative Symposium. September 8-9, 2022; Houston, TX. Oral and Poster Presentation.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The high prevalence of obesity in African American girls is a critical public health issue. Obesity prevention programs are needed to help parents create a home environment that promotes and supports obesity prevention. Interventions that incorporate technology, such as mobile health (mHealth), have the potential to encourage obesity preventive behaviors using familiar, convenient, and available technology. Text messaging is a common form of communication for African Americans. African American parents and women have shown an interest in receiving text messages and supported the use of text message-based programs to provide health information. Previous studies have not used text messages as a primary way for helping parents of pre-adolescent African American girls create a home environment that promotes and supports child obesity prevention. The purpose of the research was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a mHealth child obesity prevention program for parents of 8-10-year old African American girls. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed using a one-group design with baseline and immediate post-intervention assessments (online surveys, telephone interviews). Mothers (n=19) received 36 theoretically grounded text messages over 12-weeks focusing on behaviors associated with child obesity, including diet, physical activity, sedentary behavior, stress, and sleep. Mothers reported positive reactions to the intervention; they liked the program, used the information, and rated it highly. Most made changes as a result of participating in the program and shared the text messages with others. This research provides evidence that a theoretically-grounded mHealth child obesity prevention intervention is a feasible and acceptable method for delivering a child obesity prevention program to parents of African American girls.