Relationships between the family environment and school-based obesity prevention efforts: Can school programs help adolescents who are most in need?

K. W. Bauer, D. Neumark-Sztainer, P. J. Hannan, J. A. Fulkerson, M. Story

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Identifying factors that contribute to students' behavior and weight improvements during school-based obesity prevention interventions is critical for the development of effective programs. The current study aims to determine whether the support and resources that adolescent girls received from their families were associated with improvements in physical activity (PA), television use, dietary intake, body mass index (BMI) and body composition during participation in New Moves, a school-based intervention to prevent obesity and other weight-related problems. Adolescent girls in the intervention condition of New Moves (n = 135), and one parent of each girl, were included in the current analysis. At baseline, parents completed surveys assessing the family environment. At baseline and follow-up, 9-12 months later, girls' behaviors were self-reported, height and weight were measured by study staff and body fat was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results showed few associations between family environment factors and girls' likelihood of improving behavior, BMI or body composition. These findings suggest that in general, school-based interventions offer similar opportunities for adolescent girls to improve their PA, dietary intake, and weight, regardless of family support.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)675-688
Number of pages14
JournalHealth education research
Volume26
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2011

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (grant number R01 DK063107 to D.N.S.) and the National Center for Research Resources (grant number M01-RR00400) at the National Institutes of Health, and a J.B. Hawley Student Research Award from the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota. The first author was supported by University of Minnesota Graduate School’s Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, the Adolescent Health Protection Program (School of Nursing, University of Minnesota) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (grant number T01-DP000112 to L.B.) and the Minnesota Obesity Prevention Training (MnOPT) Program (grant number T32-DK083250 to R.J.) from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health.

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