This application is submitted in response to NIDCR PA#-03-107. The prevalence of obesity among children in the U.S. increased 130% between 1970 and 2000 (106). Current estimates indicate that 15.3% of 6-11 year olds and 15.5% of 12-19 year olds are overweight (106,133), with even higher rates (23%) among African American and Hispanic adolescents (106). The ultimate control of obesity among youth will require multiple interventions society-wide in order to provide cumulative and synergistic effects that can result in sustained health practices. One step in this approach is to encourage clinicians of all specialties to provide appropriate health promotion advice and counseling to their patients during routine office visits. Dentists and dental hygienists are in a unique position to provide such advice in the context of routine dental care. This seems particularly promising in light of the role of sugar consumption in both dental caries and weight gain2. Further, consistent exposure to food advertising, particularly during television (TV) viewing, can lead to increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and snacks among children and adolescents (28,43,49,54,61,118). Effective behavioral interventions are needed to reduce these behaviors and dental offices offer an excellent channel in which to conduct such interventions. The objective of this R21 application is to develop and test the feasibility of a dental office intervention to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and snacks and TV viewing among youth ages 9-14. We believe these changes will decrease the risk of dental caries, excessive caloric intake leading to weight gain, and exposure to TV advertisements and messages that encourage the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and snacks. Once we complete the R21, we will be well-positioned to submit an R01 to fully evaluate the intervention. With this in mind, the specific aims of this R21 are to: (1) Use formative assessment methods including focus groups with youth 9-14 years of age, parents, and dental professionals (dentists and dental hygienists) to obtain feedback regarding the proposed intervention materials and recruitment and retention strategies. Use intervention development methods to develop a repeated contact counseling intervention with dentists and dental hygienists based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and modeled after successful tobacco control interventions conducted in dental offices. (2) Use survey development methods to.
