The enormity of the problem of childhood obesity in the US requires that effective, innovative prevention and intervention strategies be developed for the future health and success of our Country. Recently, the formation of the first-ever federal task force began to address this childhood obesity epidemic, with one of the key pillars being making healthy foods more affordable and accessible for families, and uses gardening as a primary vehicle to engage the public. However, few well-designed experimental studies exist that rigorously evaluate the impact of garden-based nutrition interventions on obesity and related metabolic disorders specifically in high-risk youth populations. We recently developed and demonstrated that a pilot 12-week after-school gardening/nutrition intervention (""""""""LA Sprouts"""""""") in 4th - 5th grade students improved dietary fiber and vegetable intake, increased preference for fruit and vegetable intake, improved cooking and gardening skills, and decreased blood pressure and rate of weight gain in overweight students. However, this pilot study was not a randomized controlled trial, was conducted off-campus at a community garden and included a minimal parental component. Given the paucity of research-based trials supporting the federal initiative, additional studies are warranted. The goal of this project is to extend our LA Sprouts pilot study, and conduct a school-garden-based randomized nutrition and gardening intervention, utilizing lessons on campus during after school hours and family workshops at nearby community gardens on weekends, to improve dietary intake and reduce obesity and related metabolic disorders in Latino children (ages 8-11 years). Two regions, each with two elementary schools (a total of 400 3rd-5th graders, >90% Latino) and a participating community garden will be randomized into either: 1) LA Sprouts (12-week after school gardening/nutrition classes + bi-monthly family workshops;two schools, n=200 students);or 2) Control (Delayed intervention;two schools, n=200 students). This project will assess the effects of the LA Sprouts program on dietary intake and related behaviors, and obesity and related metabolic disorders. We hypothesize that students participating in LA Sprouts will consume more fruits and vegetables, have increased preference, motivation, and self-efficacy to eat fruits and vegetables, and have reduced obesity and metabolic risk factors compared to controls.

Public Health Relevance

Given the enormity of the problem of childhood obesity in the US and the paucity of research-based trials supporting the recent federal anti-obesity initiative which draws on the current momentum for gardening, there is a need to evaluate how a gardening intervention impacts dietary intake/behaviors, and obesity and related metabolic disease risk, especially in a high-risk Latino population. This study will be the first to conduct a randomized controlled gardening and nutrition intervention to reduce obesity and metabolic disorders in high-risk Latino youth.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21DK094066-02
Application #
8452664
Study Section
Community-Level Health Promotion Study Section (CLHP)
Program Officer
Kuczmarski, Robert J
Project Start
2012-05-01
Project End
2014-04-30
Budget Start
2013-05-01
Budget End
2014-04-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$233,201
Indirect Cost
$65,587
Name
University of Southern California
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
072933393
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90089
Gatto, N M; Martinez, L C; Spruijt-Metz, D et al. (2017) LA sprouts randomized controlled nutrition, cooking and gardening programme reduces obesity and metabolic risk in Hispanic/Latino youth. Pediatr Obes 12:28-37
Davis, Jaimie N; Martinez, Lauren C; Spruijt-Metz, Donna et al. (2016) LA Sprouts: A 12-Week Gardening, Nutrition, and Cooking Randomized Control Trial Improves Determinants of Dietary Behaviors. J Nutr Educ Behav 48:2-11.e1
Gatto, Nicole M; Martinez, Lauren C; Spruijt-Metz, Donna et al. (2015) LA sprouts randomized controlled nutrition and gardening program reduces obesity and metabolic risk in Latino youth. Obesity (Silver Spring) 23:1244-51
Long, Michelle T; Pedley, Alison; Massaro, Joseph M et al. (2015) Hepatic steatosis is associated with lower levels of physical activity measured via accelerometry. Obesity (Silver Spring) 23:1259-66
Martinez, Lauren C; Gatto, Nicole M; Spruijt-Metz, Donna et al. (2015) Design and methodology of the LA Sprouts nutrition, cooking and gardening program for Latino youth: A randomized controlled intervention. Contemp Clin Trials 42:219-27