Make a Move Intervention to Reduce Childhood Obesity

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Science
• Nutrition Science

Background:

• Head Start programs serve low-income families, often facing challenges in promoting healthy lifestyles.
• Parental involvement is crucial for children's health outcomes, yet interventions targeting parents are needed.
• Social Cognitive Theory provides a framework for understanding and influencing health behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the
• Make a Move
• intervention on Head Start parents' knowledge, attitude, and behavior related to physical activity and healthy eating.
• To test a provider-led intervention grounded in Social Cognitive Theory.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial design was employed.
• Participants were parents of children aged 3-5 years enrolled in Head Start.
• A 57-item questionnaire assessed knowledge, attitude, and behavior at baseline and postintervention. Statistical analysis used the Wilcoxon rank-sum test.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in knowledge of healthy eating (p = .05).
• Statistically significant increases in attitude (p < .01) and behavior (p = .04) towards physical activity were noted.
• Intervention adherence was high, with 77% completing all four sessions.

Conclusions:

• The
• Make a Move
• intervention effectively enhanced parents' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors concerning healthy eating and physical activity.
• Provider-led interventions can be successful in promoting health-related changes among Head Start parents.
• Findings offer valuable insights for designing future public health initiatives targeting families.