title: Methods and design of a 10-week multi-component family meals intervention: a two group quasi-experimental effectiveness trial.
abstract: Given the ongoing childhood obesity public health crisis and potential protective effect of family meals, there is need for additional family meals research, specifically experimental studies with expanded health outcomes that focus on the at-risk populations in highest need of intervention. Future research, specifically intervention work, would also benefit from an expansion of the target age range to include younger children, who are laying the foundation of their eating patterns and capable of participating in family meal preparations. The purpose of this paper is to address this research gap by presenting the objectives and research methods of a 10-week multi-component family meals intervention study aimed at eliciting positive changes in child diet and weight status.
  
  
  
  This will be a group quasi-experimental trial with staggered cohort design. Data will be collected via direct measure and questionnaires at baseline, intervention completion (or waiting period for controls), and 10-weeks post-intervention. Setting will be faith-based community center. Participants will be 60 underserved families with at least 1, 4-10 year old child will be recruited and enrolled in the intervention (n = 30) or waitlist control group (n = 30). The intervention (Simple Suppers) is a 10-week family meals program designed for underserved families from racial/ethnic diverse backgrounds. The 10, 90-min program lessons will be delivered weekly over the dinner hour. Session components include: a) interactive group discussion of strategies to overcome family meal barriers, plus weekly goal setting for caregivers; b) engagement in age-appropriate food preparation activities for children; and c) group family meal for caregivers and children. Main outcome measures are change in: child diet quality; child standardized body mass index; and frequency of family meals. Regression models will be used to compare response variables results of intervention to control group, controlling for confounders. Analyses will account for clustering by family and cohort. Significance will be set at p < 0.05.
  
  
  
  This is the first experimentally designed family meals intervention that targets underserved families with elementary school age children and includes an examination of health outcomes beyond weight status. Results will provide researchers and practitioners with insight on evidence-based programming to aid in childhood obesity prevention.
  
  
  
  NCT02923050 . Registered 03 October 2016. Retrospectively registered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences, Human Nutrition Program, The Ohio State University, 325 Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, The Ohio State University, 336 Cunz Hall, 1841 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, 408 Savage Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Jamie S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Dollahite
authors.affiliation: Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, 342 MVR, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Tisa F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, The Ohio State University, 404 Cockins Hall, 1958 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Holloman
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences, Human Nutrition Program, The Ohio State University, 347B Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
authors.forename: Carla K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences, Human Development and Family Science Program, The Ohio State University, 130B Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
authors.forename: Keeley J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Pratt
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences, Human Nutrition Program, The Ohio State University, 313 Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA. gunther.22@osu.edu.
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1199-0137
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gunther
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D005190:Family; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D062407:Meals; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D012107:Research Design; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Behavioral intervention; Child diet; Childhood obesity prevention; Family meals; Weight status