Development of an internet-based obesity prevention program for children.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatric Obesity
• Digital Health Interventions

Background:

• Childhood obesity is a significant concern in rural Louisiana.
• Traditional school-based obesity programs face challenges in delivering secondary prevention discreetly.
• Internet-based interventions offer an innovative solution for targeted weight management in schools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the Louisiana (LA) Health Internet intervention.
• To outline the components of the student and counselor websites.
• To detail the Internet counseling process for weight status management.

Main Methods:

• The LA Health Internet intervention utilized separate student and counselor web interfaces.
• Student features included behavioral weight loss lessons, activities, and counselor chat.
• Counselors accessed student data to guide personalized weight loss or maintenance counseling during class time.

Main Results:

• The intervention was implemented in 14 schools, reaching 773 students.
• Over 1100 hours of Internet counselor support were provided between Fall 2007 and Spring 2009.
• The program demonstrated engagement with students based on their weight status.

Conclusions:

• The LA Health Internet intervention is an innovative and feasible method for secondary obesity prevention in schools.
• This digital approach effectively reaches a large student population.
• The intervention provides a scalable model for school-based health programs.