The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of adapting the model of school-based dental care to include an intervention to prevent childhood obesity. By promoting healthy eating, this intervention has the potential to also provide a benefit for dental and oral health. Dental settings, given the paradigm of their standard care, offer an excellent opportunity for such interventions. There is synergy between the nutrition recommendations made by dental providers and those made for the treatment or prevention of overweight children.
The specific aims of this proposal are 1) to design and implement a healthy weight intervention that will complement and accompany school-based dental care delivery programs, 2) to assess the feasibility of a healthy weight intervention as part of a school-based dental program, particularly with respect to the additional time required, impact on the program, and acceptability, 3) to measure weight, height, calculate BMI, and collect selected information on dietary intake, physical activity and TV viewing, 4) to provide students with behavior change recommendations, facilitate choosing behavior change goals, and assess the extent to which they adopt the recommendations and follow-through with goal attainment, and 5) using the dental data from the dental program, assess the change in decayed and filled teeth over time, comparing the data for children enrolled in the healthy weight study with those who do not receive the intervention. The proposed study will utilize a one-year longitudinal study of 375 children in grades 2 to 5 and between the approximate ages of 8 and 11. It will be linked with an existing school-based program called The Forsyth Kids dental program operated by The Forsyth Institute in the city of Lynn, Massachusetts. The enrolled subjects will attend the school-based dental program for their regular dental visit as well as for the healthy weight intervention at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. Hygienists will conduct the intervention during the prevention visit in the schools. Although this proposal is exploratory in nature, it will examine outcomes including: feasibility measures, particularly the time increment required for the intervention activities, reactions from students, caregivers, dental staff and school personnel;changes in risk behavior for obesity: i.e. consumption of specific foods and drinks, physical activity, and screen time;and changes in anthropometrics. Dental incidence data for children in the study will be compared to data collected from similar children who are not part of the healthy weight pilot. Project Narrative: The benefits of the proposed study: Childhood Obesity Prevention: A Model for School-Based Dental Programs include the development of an additional and innovative method of providing individualized healthy weight information and behavioral goal-setting through a school-based dental care program, further reducing barriers to obtaining obesity prevention information, particularly in low-income areas. The current proliferation of school-based dental care systems and the synergy between the diet recommendations for dental health and healthy weight, make the development of a feasible intervention, as outlined in this proposal, valuable for all school children, particularly those in dental and medical underserved areas.
