NEST: Obesity prevention

Project summary:

The Nutrition and Exercise Start Today (NEST) study is the efficacy pilot study that informed the randomized control trial study, Health4Kids. The purpose of the NEST study was to develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive family-based intervention to reduce childhood obesity and overweight, targeting Latino families living in rural New Braunfels, Texas. Participants were randomized into one of two groups; standard care or prevention plus. Prevention plus is an educational intervention from the American Academy of Pediatrics which includes a healthy lifestyle prescription, one health education session, follow-up counseling calls, and bilingual newsletters. Outcomes included weight maintenance, fasting insulin and serum glucose levels, and markers of cardiovascular risk like lipid profile. The study aims to determine what individual, clinical, and program factors predict weight maintenance among children with obesity.

Key words: physical health, children, Latino, intervention, rural

Project details: 

Principal Investigator: Deborah Parra-Medina, Ph.D.; Jane Youngers, Ph.D.
Project title: Nutrition and Exercise Start Today (NEST): Obesity prevention for rural Hispanic families.
Funder: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Collaborators:  New Braunfels Pediatric Associates
Project period: 2009-2012