@article{330097bdddfb43a080ba4e1166458f83,
title = "Monitoring BMI Trends in a Midwest Regional Head Start Population: The Results of a Healthy Lifestyle Intervention",
abstract = "Background: Childhood obesity represents a public health crisis in the United States. Thus, focusing on early childhood is crucial to modify the consequences associated with obesity. The Food and Fitness Initiative (FFI) is a community-based wellness program implemented in Northeast Iowa since 2009. FFI focuses on healthy eating and physical activity. Our aim is to describe the impact on body mass index (BMI) after implementing FFI in a Northeast Iowa Community Action Head Start (HS) population. Methods: Retrospective BMI data was collected from all children attending 14 HS sites from 2012 to 2018. Children with BMI measurements during July to December of the first year in HS were included in the study. Follow-up data the second year in HS was obtained. Overweight and obesity prevalence, as well as, BMI changes between year 1 and 2 in HS were analyzed. Results: Data from 1013 children were collected, 850 (84%) had qualifying BMI measurements during their first year in HS and 352 of those children (41%) had follow-up data in their second year. There was a decrease in BMI between years 1 and 2 in HS that approached statistical significance (t = 1.83, P =.07, d =.10). There were no statistically significant changes in the percent of overweight (Wald χ2 =.50, P =.48) or obese (Wald χ2 = 1.71, P =.19) children between the first and second year. Conclusion: The FFI wellness program can be feasibly integrated into the HS curriculum and shows promising short-term results in improving BMI, but not to a statistically significant level when evaluated over 1 year.",
keywords = "children, community interventions, early childhood, head start, obesity",
author = "Antonela Miccoli and Toussaint, {Loren L.} and Hansen, {Carina K.} and Smith, {Latasha M.} and Lynch, {Brian A.}",
note = "Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by National Center for Advancing Translational Science (grant number UL1TR002377). Funding Information: We would like to thank the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Core Partners and Luther College Center for sustainable Communities for their financial support of the FFI initiative. Our study activities were co-funded by the Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CTSA) and the Mayo Clinic Children{\textquoteright}s Research Center. This study was supported by CTSA Grant Number UL1 TR002377 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. We would also like to thank Northeast Iowa Head Start staff, including Sharon Burke and Jada Bahls-Kargalskiy, for their collaboration and support of the project. We would like to acknowledge the nursing students of Luther College who were involved in the data collection for the study. Special thanks to Ann R. Mansfield and Haleisa Johnson from Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative for their role in study coordination for this project. Funding Information: We would like to thank the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Core Partners and Luther College Center for sustainable Communities for their financial support of the FFI initiative. Our study activities were co-funded by the Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CTSA) and the Mayo Clinic Children?s Research Center. This study was supported by CTSA Grant Number UL1 TR002377 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. We would also like to thank Northeast Iowa Head Start staff, including Sharon Burke and Jada Bahls-Kargalskiy, for their collaboration and support of the project. We would like to acknowledge the nursing students of Luther College who were involved in the data collection for the study. Special thanks to Ann R. Mansfield and Haleisa Johnson from Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative for their role in study coordination for this project. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by National Center for Advancing Translational Science (grant number UL1TR002377). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2020.",
year = "2020",
doi = "10.1177/2150132720962866",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "11",
journal = "Journal of Primary Care and Community Health",
issn = "2150-1319",
publisher = "Sage Periodicals Press",
}