Increasing Food Literacy in Preschoolers to Reduce Obesity Risk

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine the effects of a nutrition education program on preschool children's food literacy and food acceptance, and to examine the added influence of a healthy eating curriculum and parent education on children's food knowledge and healthful food choices. The project will be evaluated with 450 children ages 3 to 5 years in center-based childcare programs serving predominantly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-eligible families in Pennsylvania. Outcomes for children who receive the added healthy eating curriculum will be compared to children in classrooms that only receive the nutrition education program.

Conditions

• Food Preferences
• Food Selection
• Eating, Healthy
• Obesity, Childhood

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Healthy Eating Curriculum

The Healthy Eating (HE) curriculum is designed to provide children with skills needed to develop healthy eating habits. Each lesson builds upon the overall goal of creating a healthy restaurant. Children are taught to identify differences between GO and WHOA foods, recognize the five food groups, and learn to make healthy food choices.

BEHAVIORAL

Improving the Classroom Food and Mealtime Environment

HBP+ Classrooms will receive additional sensory activities for each lesson (e.g., posters, food models, games) designed to improve the classroom food environment and provide repeated exposure to activities and messages about fruits and vegetables. Teachers in HBP+ classrooms will be provided with additional training on strategies shown to increase food acceptance in preschool children (e.g., modeling, encouraging children to try foods without coercion). In addition, HBP+ classrooms will include "tasting charts" that children will stamp to indicate their liking for each food each week.

BEHAVIORAL

Parent Education

Parents in intervention classrooms will be given access to 8 web-based lessons on food parenting and responsive parenting. Topics include: establishing mealtime routines, shopping healthy on a budget; modeling of healthy eating behaviors; addressing picky eating in children; structuring low-stress mealtime environments; the division of responsibility in feeding, and portion control.

BEHAVIORAL

ECE Food Acceptance Training

HBP+ early childhood educators (ECEs) will be asked to complete an online, self-paced course on increasing food acceptance in preschool children. Topics will include: repeated exposure to foods; modeling of healthy eating behaviors; addressing picky eating in children; structuring low-stress mealtime environments; and the division of responsibility in feeding.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Penn State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Lori A Francis, Ph.D. · Penn State University; Professor

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

3 Years

Max Age

6 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-10-03

Primary Completion

2026-08-31

Completion

2026-08-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations