Obesity is recognized as a major public health concern and has become a national health priority. With the prevalence of adolescent obesity nearly triple what it was two decades ago, effective interventions to prevent and treat overweight and obesity among adolescents are needed. Programs to enhance the healthy behaviors related to obesity prevention with cost-effective, science-based and easily deliverable interventions can be effective solutions to help curb the rate of childhood overweight and obesity. The objective of this research is to develop and test a Transtheoretical Model-based intervention for high school students that promotes the adoption and maintenance of healthy behaviors related to the prevention of obesity. The successful completion of our Phase I project demonstrates that a stage-matched, multi-media expert system is both acceptable to high school students and feasible to conduct in a high school setting. The primary goals of our Phase II application are to complete the development of the expert system intervention and to assess its effectiveness in a randomized clinical trial. Effectiveness will be assessed by comparing fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, TV watching, and several secondary outcome measures among high school students randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) - Phase II (R44)
Project #
5R44HL074482-04
Application #
7235383
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-RPHB-C (12))
Program Officer
Pratt, Charlotte
Project Start
2003-08-01
Project End
2008-07-31
Budget Start
2007-05-01
Budget End
2008-07-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$144,116
Indirect Cost
Name
Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc.
Department
Type
DUNS #
036861821
City
South Kingstown
State
RI
Country
United States
Zip Code
02879
Johnson, Sara S; Paiva, Andrea L; Mauriello, Leanne et al. (2014) Coaction in multiple behavior change interventions: consistency across multiple studies on weight management and obesity prevention. Health Psychol 33:475-80
Mauriello, Leanne M; Ciavatta, Mary Margaret H; Paiva, Andrea L et al. (2010) Results of a multi-media multiple behavior obesity prevention program for adolescents. Prev Med 51:451-6
Driskell, Mary-Margaret; Dyment, Sharon; Mauriello, Leanne et al. (2008) Relationships among multiple behaviors for childhood and adolescent obesity prevention. Prev Med 46:209-15