title: Randomized trial of a prevention intervention that embeds weight-related messages within a general parenting program.
abstract: To assess the extent to which an obesity prevention intervention that embeds obesity-related messages within a parenting program, compared with controls who received weekly mailings, resulted in a smaller increase in children's BMI (primary outcome) and improvements in weight-related behaviors from baseline to 9-month follow-up.
  
  
  
  Fifty-six families were randomly assigned to the intervention and 56 to control. Children were primarily Hispanic (58%) or Black/African American (23%). Intervention included nine weekly: group parenting sessions, children's sessions, and homework assignments. At baseline, post-intervention, and 9-month follow-up, staff assessed children's weight and height. Parents completed surveys assessing parenting skills, feeding behaviors, and children's weight-related behaviors.
  
  
  
  From baseline to 9-month follow-up, BMI decreased by a mean of 0.13 kg m(-2) among children in the intervention and increased by 0.21 kg m(-2) among children in the control, resulting in a nonsignificant difference (multivariate adjusted difference = -0.36; 95% confidence interval [CI] -1.23, 0.51; P = 0.41). Parents in the intervention decreased restrictive feeding practices relative to control (-0.30; 95% CI -0.53, -0.07; P = 0.01). Intervention and control arms showed similar changes in children's weight-related behaviors.
  
  
  
  The intervention improved restrictive feeding but did not influence children's BMI or weight-related behaviors compared to controls who received weekly mailings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Jess
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haines
authors.affiliation: Obesity Prevention Program, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Sheryl L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Rifas-Shiman
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.affiliation: Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, California, USA.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.affiliation: Obesity Prevention Program, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kleinman
authors.affiliation: Obesity Prevention Program, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Gillman
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004505:Education, Nonprofessional / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010174:Pamphlets; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires