Obesity is increasing among youth and is associated with increased risk of certain cancers and other chronic diseases. Fruit, juice, and vegetable (FJV) intake is associated with decreased risk of many types of cancer and obesity, but is well below the recommended minimum of five servings a day. Innovative methods are needed to promote increased consumption among youth. Goal setting enhances goal attainment and, therefore, facilitates behavior change. Little research has been conducted, however, on the most effective goal setting methods to use with youth. Among adults, the formation of implementation intentions (a detailed plan of when, where, and how goals will be achieved) has been shown to enhance goal attainment and/or behavior change, including dietary change. Research is needed to determine if extending the goal setting process to include implementation intentions is an effective method for enhancing goal attainment, and therefore, increasing FJV intake among youth. Squire's Quest! is a proven-effective 10-session, 5 week interactive multi media program that enabled children to increase FJV consumption by 1.0 servings a day. Total consumption was still well below five servings a day, however. Additionally, goal attainment was related to FJV consumption among certain sub- groups of youth. Therefore, additional work in this area is warranted. The research outlined in th7is application will expand the goal setting component of this successful intervention to include the formation of implementation intentions. Hypotheses related to the impact of implementation intentions on goal attainment and FJV consumption will then be tested. Issues related to maintenance of youth dietary behavior change will also be explored. This project is relevant to public health because enhancing our understanding of how to more effectively help young children set and achieve FJV goals should result in increased FJV consumption, which should decrease risk of both obesity and certain cancers in a vulnerable segment of the population.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD050595-03
Application #
7640835
Study Section
Psychosocial Risk and Disease Prevention Study Section (PRDP)
Program Officer
Raiten, Daniel J
Project Start
2007-05-01
Project End
2011-04-30
Budget Start
2009-05-01
Budget End
2010-04-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$522,576
Indirect Cost
Name
Baylor College of Medicine
Department
Pediatrics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
051113330
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77030
DeSmet, Ann; Liu, Yan; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse et al. (2017) The effectiveness of asking behaviors among 9-11 year-old children in increasing home availability and children's intake of fruit and vegetables: results from the Squire's Quest II self-regulation game intervention. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 14:51
Thompson, Debbe; Ferry Jr, Robert J; Cullen, Karen W et al. (2016) Improvement in Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Associated with More Favorable Energy Density and Nutrient and Food Group Intake, but not Kilocalories. J Acad Nutr Diet 116:1443-1449
Cullen, Karen W; Liu, Yan; Thompson, Debbe I (2016) Meal-Specific Dietary Changes From Squires Quest! II: A Serious Video Game Intervention. J Nutr Educ Behav 48:326-330.e1
Thompson, Debbe; Bhatt, Riddhi; Vazquez, Isabel et al. (2015) Creating action plans in a serious video game increases and maintains child fruit-vegetable intake: a randomized controlled trial. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 12:39
Thompson, Debbe; Bhatt, Riddhi; Lazarus, Melanie et al. (2012) A Serious Video Game to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Elementary Aged Youth (Squire's Quest! II): Rationale, Design, and Methods. JMIR Res Protoc 1:e19
Thompson, Debbe (2012) Designing serious video games for health behavior change: current status and future directions. J Diabetes Sci Technol 6:807-11
Thompson, Debbe; Baranowski, Tom; Buday, Richard (2010) Conceptual model for the design of a serious video game promoting self-management among youth with type 1 diabetes. J Diabetes Sci Technol 4:744-9