Despite the recognition of health disparities in obesity, behavioral interventions among low-income and minority populations have consistently met with limited success. This is partially explained by social determinants of health. Constantly changing barriers at the household and community levels impede consistent engagement in healthy behaviors. The current proposal tests a novel, culturally-tailored and multi-level intervention designed to teach families to overcome dynamic barriers as the logical next step to address obesity among low-income Latino families. It is based on the premise that by implementing a personalized multi-level intervention that simultaneously addresses healthy weight for parents and children, we will improve body mass index (BMI) among Latino parent-child pairs. COACH (COmpetency-Based Approaches to Community Health) implements a personally tailored approach, equipping families to engage in health behaviors despite dynamic barriers. COACH is a multi-level intervention targeting 1) the individual child through developmentally appropriate health behavior curriculum, 2) the family by addressing parent weight loss directly and engaging parents as agents of change for their children, and 3) the community by building capacity of Parks and Rec centers to offer parent-child programming. Using novel multi-component assessments throughout the study, the intervention identifies individual, family, and community barriers to healthy behaviors and delivers structured yet personalized intervention content in 7 domains: fruits/vegetables, snacks, sugary drinks, physical activity, sleep, media use, and parenting. Building on a successful pilot, this proposal will implement a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of COACH compared to an attention-matched school-readiness control group. We will enroll 300 parent-child pairs from Latino communities in Nashville, TN. Eligible children will be 3-5 years old and have a BMI >50th percentile. Through our 10-year partnership with the Nashville Parks and Rec department, we conduct COACH in neighborhood community centers, leveraging community infrastructure to facilitate health behavior change. The primary outcome will be child BMI change at 2-year follow-up, using a growth curve analysis. Secondary outcomes will include parent BMI, and parent/child diet and physical activity. The goals of COACH are to 1) implement a novel personalized behavioral intervention, 2) test a two-generation solution to obesity, 3) address health disparities by reducing obesity among Latino families, and 4) develop a scalable and widely accessible approach to behavioral obesity interventions by delivering them in Parks and Rec centers.
One-size-fits-all approaches have failed to demonstrate sustained effects on childhood obesity, especially among low-income minority families, who experience constantly changing barriers to engaging in health behavior. Addressing obesity in these populations requires intervening in early childhood and situating interventions in the context of families and communities. Developing personalized childhood obesity prevention interventions with sustained effectiveness that support families in health behaviors despite dynamic barriers could address chronic disease risk and health disparities in low-income and minority communities.
