Increasing Food Literacy as a Means of Increasing Preschool Children's Food Acceptance and Reducing Obesity Risk
Status: Recruiting
Location: See location...
Intervention Type: Behavioral
Study Type: Interventional
Study Phase: Not Applicable
SUMMARY
The goal of this clinical trial is to examine the effects of a nutrition education program on preschool children's food literacy and food acceptance, and to examine the added influence of a healthy eating curriculum and parent education on children's food knowledge and healthful food choices. The project will be evaluated with 450 children ages 3 to 5 years in center-based childcare programs serving predominantly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-eligible families in Pennsylvania. Outcomes for children who receive the added healthy eating curriculum will be compared to children in classrooms that only receive the nutrition education program.
Eligibility
Participation Requirements
Sex: All
Minimum Age: 3
Maximum Age: 6
Healthy Volunteers: t
View:
• Preschool children enrolled in participating centers
Locations
United States
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania State University
RECRUITING
University Park
Contact Information
Primary
Lori A Francis, Ph.D.
lfrancis@psu.edu
814-863-0213
Backup
Regina H Lozinski, M.S.
rmh215@psu.edu
814-865-0045
Time Frame
Start Date: 2023-10-03
Estimated Completion Date: 2026-08
Participants
Target number of participants: 770
Treatments
No_intervention: Healthy Bodies Project Comparison (HBP)
All classrooms will receive the Eating the Alphabet curriculum, which includes 27 lessons that introduce children to a new fruit or vegetable from A-Z each week. Parents in comparison and intervention classrooms will receive access to web-based parent resources related to the Eating the Alphabet curriculum (e.g., food of the week fact sheets with recipes and suggestions for use, and coloring pages).
Experimental: Healthy Bodies Project Plus (HBP+)
Intervention classrooms will receive the Eating the Alphabet curriculum described above for comparison classrooms, in addition to (1) the Healthy Eating curriculum, (2) classroom materials and teacher training designed to improve the classroom food and mealtime environment in ways that increase food acceptance, and (3) parent/caregiver education on responsive food parenting.
Related Therapeutic Areas
Sponsors
Leads: Penn State University