Family Spirit Nurture (FSN) – a randomized controlled trial to prevent early childhood obesity in American Indian populations: trial rationale and study protocol

This study is a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of home-visiting intervention, called Family Spirit Nurture, on reducing early childhood obesity in Native American children. Participants are expectant Native American mothers ages 14 –24 and their child, enrolled from pregnancy to 24 months postpartum and randomized 1:1 to receive the Family Spirit Nurture intervention or a control condition. The intervention includes 36 lessons delivered one-on-one by locally-hired Native American Family Health Coaches to participating moth ers from pregnancy until 18 months postpartum. A mixed methods assessment includes maternal self-reports, maternal and child observations, and physical and biological data collected at 11 time points from 32 weeks gestation to 2 years postpartum to measure the intervention’s primary impact o n maternal feeding behaviors; children’s healthy diet and physical activity; children’s weight status. Secondary measures include maternal psychosocial factors; household food and water security; infant sleep and temperament; and maternal and child metabolic status.DiscussionNone of the 20 current federally-endorsed home-visiting models have demonstrated impacts on preventing early childhood obesity. The original Family Spirit program, upon which Family Spirit Nurture is based, demonstrated effect on maternal and child behavioral health, not including obesity related risk factors. This trial has potential to inform the effectiveness of ...
Source: BMC Obesity - Category: Eating Disorders & Weight Management Source Type: research