The Team COOL (Controlling Overweight and Obesity for Life) Pilot Study is an exploratory study that aims to develop and test the acceptability and feasibility of an innovative school-based intervention to prevent further weight gain and/or promote weight loss among a sample of ethnically and economically diverse adolescents attending alternative high schools. Alternative high schools are public or private schools that offer a nontraditional educational experience for at-risk students, such as dropouts, expelled students, truants and hard to reach learners who have not succeeded in regular school systems. Although low levels of physical activity and unhealthy dietary practices, behaviors regarded as a primary cause of the overweight/obesity epidemic among youth, are prevalent among teens attending alternative schools, school-based programs targeting these behaviors have not been tested and evaluated. The proposed pilot study will involve a group-randomized trial of six alternative high schools in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and compare an innovative intervention to a minimal intervention/comparison condition. Social Cognitive Theory and ecological theory will provide the theoretical basis for the multi-component intervention, which will include 1) a classroom-based experiential curriculum that incorporates school, family and community-linked activities to promote physical activity, healthy eating and limited television viewing, 2) environmental modifications of food and beverage offerings and physical activity opportunities at school and 3) a teacher-guided, youth-directed health advisory council to promote and support physical activity, healthy eating and limited television viewing. Student and school-level measurements will be taken at baseline, 6 months post randomization and at the completion of the 18 month intervention. Student-level measures will include a self-administered survey, the 3-day Previous Day Physical Activity Report and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels of students as measured by an Actigraph accelerometer. School-level measures will assess the availability of physical activity opportunities and healthy foods at school. Process data, which will include participation levels of students, parents/guardians, school staff and community persons, receptivity to the intervention and fidelity of the implementation, will be collected at intervention completion. It is hypothesized that adolescents attending alternative high schools and their parents and school staff who receive the Team COOL intervention will report high participation rates and a high degree of satisfaction. ? ?
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