African-Americans have one of the highest cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality rates in the world. This is not surprising given the high prevalence of established risk factors in African-Americans. Several risk factors currently more prevalent among African-Americans than whites in the United States are: hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity in women, and low socioeconomic status. It is increasingly evident that behavior related to CVD risk develop during childhood and adolescence. One of the more damaging behaviors is high-risk nutritional patterns. Since the critical time for the development of these patterns is during childhood, early intervention is paramount to the reduction of CVD. Historically, nutrition education campaigns have not targeted disadvantaged minority youth. These children, however, are most vulnerable to health compromising behaviors due to some of the challenges of coping with poverty. This study will test the acceptability and effectiveness of two interventions designed to prevent high-risk nutritional patterns and inactivity among 6-10 year old African-American youth in Chicago's inner city. The two interventions are: 1) Know Your Body (KYB) and 2) Intensive Know Your Body (IKYB). These will be compared to each other and to a control group. KYB is a comprehensive health-education curriculum validated by the U.S. Department of Education and aimed at chronic disease risk reduction. IKYB consists of the KYB curriculum plus a culture-specific augmentation which includes: 1) parents 2) peers; and 3) community resources. The interventions are to be implemented via a community-based after-school program for two years and will follow the school calendar (36 weeks each year). A one year follow-up is planned IKYB will include active participation by parents and use of a peer-led approach to enhance acquisition of skills related to changing health compromising behaviors. Intervention efficacy will be experimentally tested by randomly assigning 300 African-American parent/child dyads to either: 1) the core program (KYB); 2) the core program plus the culturally specific augmentation (IKYB); or 2) an attention placebo control group (AP). We expect there to be a linear effect in results, with IKYB producing the largest effects, followed by KYB and then the AP IKYB will show the largest reductions in daily fat intake, cholesterol intake, increased physical activity, and improved scores on their mediators (knowledge, attitudes, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and level of depression). Also, IKYB will produce the largest beneficial changes in ponderosity, blood pressure, resting pulse, cholesterol, sodium and fitness levels. Process data will be evaluated to determine the levels of acceptance (participation and satisfaction) by the largest audience (children, parents).
| Fitzgibbon, M L; Blackman, L R; Avellone, M E (2000) The relationship between body image discrepancy and body mass index across ethnic groups. Obes Res 8:582-9 |
| Fitzgibbon, M L; Prewitt, T E; Blackman, L R et al. (1998) Quantitative assessment of recruitment efforts for prevention trials in two diverse black populations. Prev Med 27:838-45 |
| Fitzgibbon, M L; Spring, B; Avellone, M E et al. (1998) Correlates of binge eating in Hispanic, black, and white women. Int J Eat Disord 24:43-52 |
