Snack It Up for Parents: Interventions to Improve Children's Snacks (SIU4P)

Tufts University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Snacking

Treatments: Behavioral: Combined; Behavioral: Incentive; Behavioral: Education

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03678779

1601028

Details and patient eligibility

About

Influencing children's snacking habits has the potential to reap long-term rewards, yet few studies have focused on helping parents to provide healthier snacks for their children. The study tested the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of parent interventions to improve snacks for children ages 8-12.

Full description

Objective. Influencing children's snacking habits has the potential to reap long-term rewards, yet few studies have focused on helping parents to provide healthier snacks for their children. The study tested the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of parent interventions to improve snacks for children ages 8-12.

Methods. Parents of children enrolled in an out-of-school-time soccer program in a low-income school district (n 16) were recruited. A comparison of 3 randomly-assigned interventions was conducted: 4 parents received grocery store gift cards (Incentive); 7 received nutrition education videos with tip sheets (Education); and 5 received both (Combined). The interventions were assessed qualitatively by interviewing parents and quantitatively to determine motivation (psychosocial survey) and children's snack quality (web-based 24-hour recall).

Enrollment: 17 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 18 year and older
• Must have a child enrolled in one of three designated soccer sites of the study and must agree to let their child take the online 24 hour recall (ASA24)
• Must have a child 7 years or older participating on a soccer team
• Must frequently buy groceries from Stop & Shop (only if recruited for a study arms that involves grocery coupons)
• Must be literate in English or Spanish.

Exclusion criteria

• Failure to provide informed consent

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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17 participants in 3 patient groups

Incentive

Experimental group

Description:

Each week parents received one $5 grocery store gift card per child in the household, intended for the purchase of healthy snacks, donated to the study by a partnering grocery store

Treatment:

Behavioral: Incentive

Education

Experimental group

Description:

Parents received brief weekly nutrition education videos (approximately one minute in length, uploaded on YouTube and viewable on most operating systems and on mobile devices

Treatment:

Behavioral: Education

Combined

Experimental group

Description:

Parents received both the Incentive and Education arm interventions

Treatment:

Behavioral: Combined