Making a Difference in Migrant Summer School: Testing a Healthy Weight Intervention

Evaluate the effectiveness of a healthy weight intervention designed for children of migrant farmworkers embedded in a 7-week summer Midwest Migrant Education Program (MEP) for changes in: weight; Body Mass Index (BMI); BMI-percentiles (BMI-p); muscle strength and muscle flexibility; nutrition knowledge; attitudes; and behaviors.

This is a two-group pre-post quasi-experimental study. Latino children of migrant farmworkers attending summer MEP in grades one through eight were enrolled (n = 171: comparison n = 33, intervention n = 138).

Weight, BMI, BMI-p, muscle strength and flexibility, knowledge, and healthy behaviors.

Classroom content included: food variety; increasing fruits and vegetables; healthy breakfasts; more family meals; increasing family time; decreasing TV and electronic game time; increasing physical activity; limiting sugar-sweetened drinks; portion sizes; and food labels.

Statistically significant were increase in comparison group mean weight, decrease in intervention group BMI-p, and improvements in muscle flexibility and healthy behavior attitudes. The intervention students showed trends toward healthy BMI. The number of MEP days attended was significantly correlated in four outcomes.

Study findings have the potential to decrease incidence of unhealthy weight in Latino migrant children, reduce rates of premature adult diseases in these children, and a potential to decrease future health care costs.