Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #112655

Sharon McWhinney, PhD, MS¹, Barbara Dixon, MS¹, Ranjita Misra, PhD, CHES², B. Lee Green, PhD³, Brian Rivers, PhD, MPH³, and Reggie Louis, BA³. (1) Department of Nutrition, Prairie View A&M University, P.O. Box 4329, Prairie View, TX 77446, (936) 857-4417, Sharon_McWhinney@pvamu.edu, (2) Health&Kinesiology Department, Texas A&M University, 4243 TAMU, 158P Read Building, College Station, TX 77843-4243, (3) Texas A&M University, Center for the Study of Health Disparities, 112 Harrington Tower, TAMU 4222, College Station, TX 77843

Healthy People 2010 identifies the reduction in the proportion of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese as one of its primary goals. The Childhood Obesity Awareness and Education Project is a comprehensive prevention and awareness project targeting underserved minority students in the 4th and 8th grades in selected schools within Waller County, Texas. This project is designed to increase awareness of the problem of childhood obesity and increase the knowledge and practice of healthy behaviors intended to prevent childhood obesity. Six groups within two geographic focus areas received an educational intervention. Through a social norming behavior change intervention, the project utilized mass media to educate and motivate the target population to adopt improved physical activity and dietary practices. All study participants received the social norming messages. The project utilized lay health workers to reinforce the social norming messages in two of the six intervention groups. Students in all six intervention groups were randomly selected. The randomization allowed comparisons to be made between the two groups receiving reinforced educational messages and those receiving only social norming messages. Changes in knowledge and behavior were measured, as well as the impact of the reinforced education in all six of the intervention groups. The results of this project will be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

• To identify the knowledge and behaviors needed to prevent childhood obesity. To discuss the components of the Childhood Obesity Awareness and Education Project and the implications for future related research.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation