LA Sprouts: The Impact of Gardening and Nutrition Education on Childhood Obesity in Latino Youth

Sponsor

University of Southern California (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT02291146

Collaborator

Loma Linda University (Other), University of Texas at Austin (Other), University of California, Los Angeles (Other), National Institutes of Health (NIH) (NIH), Annenberg Foundation (Other)

421

Enrollment

Location

Arms

Duration (Months)

14.5

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

The overall goal of this project is to conduct a randomized controlled 12-week after school, gardening, nutrition and cooking program (called "LA Sprouts") to improve dietary intake and reduce obesity in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students (ages 8-12 years) in Los Angeles. Approximately 400 3rd - 5th grade students participating in the LA's Best after school program will participate. Four elementary schools in Los Angeles will be selected to participate in the study. Schools will be randomized by region to either receive the intervention (LA Sprouts; 2 schools, n=200 students) or serve as controls (received a delayed intervention program one school semester later; 2 schools, n=200 students). The LA Sprouts intervention will take place at the elementary schools, with gardens on campus specially designed and built for this project. The program will be held once a week for 12 weeks and will consist of a 45-minute gardening lesson, taught by Master Gardeners from the University of California Cooperative Extension (supervised by Nicole Gatto, MPH, PhD), and a 45-minute nutrition education and cooking lesson, taught by USC a Nutrition Educator (supervised by Jaimie Davis, PhD, RD). Measures of childhood obesity (i.e., body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentages), blood pressure, metabolic function (fasting blood glucose, insulin and lipids), dietary intake and related behaviors, and school performance will be measured before and after the implementation of the program in both intervention and control participants. Approximately 10 additional students of the same age will be asked to participate in a focus group to evaluate the questionnaire developed for this study. In addition, approximately 20 additonal students of the same age will be asked to participate in a test-retest session to validate the reliability of the questionnaire.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Pediatric Obesity	Behavioral: LA Sprouts intervention	N/A

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

421 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Masking:

None (Open Label)

Primary Purpose:

Prevention

Official Title:

LA Sprouts: The Impact of Gardening and Nutrition Education on Childhood Obesity in Latino Youth

Study Start Date :

Jul 1, 2011

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Dec 1, 2013

Actual Study Completion Date :

Dec 1, 2013

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: LA Sprouts intervention The intervention classes will be taught during a 90-minute session once a week for 12 weeks. Participants will receive a 45-minute gardening lesson, taught by a Master Gardener (supervised by Dr. Gatto). This lesson will include learning how to plant, maintain and harvest various fruits and vegetables. Supplementing the gardening lesson, a USC nutrition educator, with help from various graduate students (supervised by PI Dr. Davis), will lead a 45-minute cooking activity and nutrition education lesson. Every participant will participate in the cooking activity and sample the food. The program will include lessons on growing crops that have cultural significance to Latino youth such as nopales, beans, corn and squash (the latter three crops are commonly referred to as "the three sisters").	Behavioral: LA Sprouts intervention see arm 1 description
No Intervention: control Approximately 200 students in the second region who are enrolled in LA's Best will serve as control participants. After the 12-week intervention is conducted and all post-testing measures are collected on controls, a vegetable/fruit garden will be built at both control schools and the LA Sprouts program will be taught to all 3rd, 4th and 5th graders in LAs Best and their parents at the control school as a delayed intervention.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Experimental: LA Sprouts intervention

The intervention classes will be taught during a 90-minute session once a week for 12 weeks. Participants will receive a 45-minute gardening lesson, taught by a Master Gardener (supervised by Dr. Gatto). This lesson will include learning how to plant, maintain and harvest various fruits and vegetables. Supplementing the gardening lesson, a USC nutrition educator, with help from various graduate students (supervised by PI Dr. Davis), will lead a 45-minute cooking activity and nutrition education lesson. Every participant will participate in the cooking activity and sample the food. The program will include lessons on growing crops that have cultural significance to Latino youth such as nopales, beans, corn and squash (the latter three crops are commonly referred to as "the three sisters").

Behavioral: LA Sprouts intervention

see arm 1 description

No Intervention: control

Approximately 200 students in the second region who are enrolled in LA's Best will serve as control participants. After the 12-week intervention is conducted and all post-testing measures are collected on controls, a vegetable/fruit garden will be built at both control schools and the LA Sprouts program will be taught to all 3rd, 4th and 5th graders in LAs Best and their parents at the control school as a delayed intervention.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

change in adiposity [baseline and 12 weeks]
measured by BMI, waist circumference, and body fat percentages (via Tanita scale)
change in blood pressure [baseline and 12 weeks]
change in metabolic function [baseline and 12 weeks]
measured by fasting glucose, insulin and lipids

Secondary Outcome Measures

change in dietary intake [basline and 12 weeks]
measured via screener, specifically fruits, vegetables, fiber
change in determinants of fruit and vegetable intake [basline and 12 weeks]
measured via LA Sprouts questionnaire (developed for this study), ie knowledge, preferences, self-efficacy, motivation

Other Outcome Measures

change in school engagement [basline and 12 weeks]
measured via LA Sprouts questionnaire (developed for this study)

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

8 Years to 12 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

Normal, Overweight and Obese Children: Investigators will attempt to obtain a natural selection of normal weight children (age- & sex-specific BMI < 85th percentile based on CDC BMI growth charts (40) and overweight and obese children (BMI ≥ 85th percentile). Based on preliminary data from these areas, investigators expect that at least 50% of the sample will be overweight or obese. There will not be an upper BMI limit.

Gender & Age: Investigators will attempt to enroll equal numbers of female and male students in 3rd through 5th grades (8-12 years of age).

Latino origin: This study will include all ethnicities, however the selected schools are

90% Latino.

Exclusion Criteria:

The following criteria are exclusionary: presently taking medication(s) or diagnosed with any disease that could influence dietary intake or body composition; previously diagnosed with any major illness since birth (e.g. chronic birth asphyxia, cancer, etc.); any physical, cognitive, or psychological disability that would prevent participation in the study. Participants testing positive for diabetes (as determined from the fasting blood draw) will be referred for treatment. (Note: subjects with pre-diabetes will be eligible for the study). Although participant data may be excluded based on the above exclusion criteria, participation in the program classes may be allowed. Individual cases will be reviewed as they arise.