Session: Engaging Parents in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity: Family Interventions at Three Developmental Stages (Society for Prevention Research 25th Annual Meeting)

The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased dramatically in recent decades. Obese children face increased risks to physical and emotional well-being. Although meta-analyses have shown that programs involving parents are more effective in reducing childhood obesity, the majority of interventions target children rather than families. The goal of this symposium is to present examples of family interventions designed to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity. This symposium brings together multi-disciplinary faculty from several institutions who are creating and testing evidence-based programs that target both children and their parents in community settings. The three interventions address unique risk factors, as well as distinct stages of children’s development.

The first paper, “Development of a Family Focused Child Obesity Prevention Program for Preschoolers—SEEDS” describes an intervention targeting low-income families with preschoolers that focuses on the important role that parents play in the development of child food preferences, food selection, and self-regulation of energy intake. After participating in a 7 week program with child and parent sessions, participant changes are measured pre-post, at 6 months, and 1 year post-program. Results of an efficacy trial with Latina mothers and their 4-5 year old children at two sites will be presented.

The second paper, “FoodMania: Kids & Food In a Marketing Driven World-- A Family-based Media Literacy and Nutrition Childhood Obesity Prevention Program” addresses obesity risk factors faced by school-aged children who are increasingly exposed to marketing for high calorie, low nutrient foods. Parents play an important role in supporting children’s media literacy skills to override the emotional decision-making processes that influence the purchase and consumption of these less healthy foods. Results from an efficacy trial testing a 6 week intervention in five community sites will be shared.

The third paper, “Can We Promote Responsive Bottle-Feeding Practices by Simply Giving Mothers Different Bottles?” emphasizes the importance of childhood obesity intervention in infancy. The paper presents research with bottle-feeding mother-infant dyads designed to explore a novel approach to promote mothers’ responsiveness to infant satiety cues. The results suggest a simple yet effective intervention that improves the responsive feeding practices of mothers.

Following the presentations, a discussant will highlight contributions of childhood obesity research to the broader field of prevention science and suggest how the findings presented might inform the work of maternal-child and family practitioners in health care systems.