A Youth-Leader Program in Baltimore City Recreation Centers: Lessons Learned and Applications

Peer-led interventions may be an effective means of addressing the childhood obesity epidemichowever, few studies have looked at the long-term sustainability of such programs. As part of a multilevel obesity prevention intervention, B'More Healthy Communities for Kids, 16 Baltimore college students were trained as youth-leaders (YLs) to deliver a skill-based nutrition curriculum to low-income African American children (10-14 years old). In April 2015, formative research was used to inform sustainability of the YL program in recreation centers. In-depth interviews were conducted with recreation center directors (n = 4) and the YLs (n = 16). Two focus groups were conducted with YLs (n = 7) and community youth-advocates (n = 10). Barriers to this program included difficulties with transportation, time constraints, and recruiting youth. Lessons learned indicated that improving trainings and incentives to youth were identified as essential strategies to foster continuity of the youth-led program and capacity building. High school students living close to the centers were identified as potential candidates to lead the program. Based on our findings, the initial intervention will be expanded into a sustainable model for implementation, using a train-the-trainer approach to empower community youth to be change agents of the food environment and role models.Johns Hopkins Urban Health InstituteGlobal Obesity Prevention Center at Johns HopkinsEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentOffice of the Director, National Institutes of Health [U54HD070725]646 CNPq [GDE: 249316/2013-7]Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Sch Publ Hlth, Baltimore, MD USAUniv Tennessee, Knoxville, TN USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Santos, SP, BrazilDept Recreat & Pk City Baltimore, Baltimore, MD USAUniv Maryland Extens, Ellicott City, MD USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Santos, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Impact of a Multi-Level Multi-Component Food Environment/Behavioral Intervention on Youth Leaders

Northeast - Regional Nutrition Education Center of ExcellenceGlobal Obesity Prevention Center (GOPC) at Johns HopkinsEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)CNPqJohns Hopkins Univ, Int Hlth, Baltimore, MD USAUniv Tennessee, Dept Nutr, Knoxville, TN 37996 USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Santos, BrazilFSNE, Columbia, MD USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Santos, BrazilOffice of the Director, National Institutes of Health (OD): U54HD070725CNPq: GDE: 249316/2013-7Web of Scienc

Inconsistency between Self-Reported Energy Intake and Body Mass Index among Urban, African-American Children

<div><p>Background</p><p>To prevent obesity, it is important to assess dietary habits through self-reported energy intake (EI) in children. We investigated how EI is associated with body mass index and which elements of dietary habits and status are associated with EI among African-American (AA) children.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We assessed and included data from 218 10–14-year-old AA children in Baltimore, MD, USA. EI was calculated using a food frequency questionnaire. The basal metabolic rate (BMR) was used as the predicted minimal rate of energy expenditure of children. A fully adjusted multiple logistic regression was used to determine the prevalence of obesity (≥ 95^th BMI-for-age percentile) among the quartiles of EI/BMR ratio using the third quartile for the reference. The differences in the age-adjusted mean EI/BMR among the categories of dietary habits, social support, and socio economic status were analyzed using a general linear model.</p><p>Results</p><p>Children with the lowest EI/BMR had significantly higher adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of obesity as compared to those in the third quartile of EI/BMR (boys aOR 4.3; 95% confidence interval 1.08, 20 and girls aOR 4.1; 1.02, 21). In girls, the adjusted mean EI/BMR in the group that prepared food less than the means (3.8 times/week) was significantly lower than the group that prepared food over the means (<i>P</i> = 0.03). Further, the group that reported eating breakfast under 4 times/week indicated an adjusted mean EI/BMR lower than the group that ate breakfast over 5 times/week in both sexes.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>When EI was under-reported with reference to BMR, we may observe high prevalence of obesity. Further, food preparation by children and frequent consumption of breakfast may instill food cognition with usual dietary habits. Therefore, holistic assessments including dietary habits are required to examine self-reported food intake especially among overweight/obese children.</p></div

Adjusted Odds Ratio of Overweight and Obesity in the EI/BMR Quartiles as Compared to the Third Quartile by a Multiple Logistic Regression Model.

<p>Adjusted Odds Ratio of Overweight and Obesity in the EI/BMR Quartiles as Compared to the Third Quartile by a Multiple Logistic Regression Model.</p

The Differences in Age, BMI-Percentile-For-Age and Dietary Intake Across the Quartiles of EI/BMR.

<p>The Differences in Age, BMI-Percentile-For-Age and Dietary Intake Across the Quartiles of EI/BMR.</p

The Differences in Age-Adjusted Mean EI/BMR by Dietary Habits, Social Support, and Socioeconomic Status.

<p>The Differences in Age-Adjusted Mean EI/BMR by Dietary Habits, Social Support, and Socioeconomic Status.</p