Child diet and health outcomes of the simple suppers program: a 10-week, 2-group quasi-experimental family meals trial

• Published in: BMC public health 2019-12, Vol.19 (1), p.1657-14, Article 1657
• Main Authors: Gunther, Carolyn, Rogers, Catherine, Holloman, Christopher, Hopkins, Laura C, Anderson, Sarah E, Miller, Carla K, Copeland, Kristen A, Dollahite, Jamie S, Pratt, Keeley J, Webster, Alison, Labyk, Allison N, Penicka, Christine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beverages; Blood pressure; Body weight; Child; Child health; Child, Preschool; Childhood obesity; Comparative analysis; Diet; Diet - statistics & numerical data; Faith; Family; Family meals; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Food and nutrition; Food preparation skills; Health aspects; Humans; Male; Meals; Obesity; Pediatric Obesity - epidemiology; Pediatric Obesity - prevention & control; Program Evaluation; Racial minority; Risk Factors; Sugar; Television and children; Television viewers
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-7930-7

Racial minority children, particularly from low-income households, are at risk for obesity. Family meals have a protective effect on child nutritional health. However, the current evidence is limited in racial and socioeconomic diversity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a family meals intervention, Simple Suppers, on improvements in diet and health outcomes from baseline (T0) to post-intervention (T1) in intervention compared to waitlist control participants, and determine retention of change in outcomes among intervention participants at 10-week follow-up (T2). Simple Suppers was a 10-week family meals intervention implemented as a 2-group quasi-experimental trial. Ten 90-min lessons were delivered weekly. Data were collected at T0 and T1, and from intervention participants at T2. Participants were racially diverse 4-10 year-old children from low-income households. Setting was a faith-based community center. Main outcomes were daily servings of fruit, vegetables, and sugar-sweetened beverages and diet quality; z-scores for body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP); weight status categories; food preparation skills; and family meals (frequency of dinner, breakfast, TV viewing during meals, meals in dining area). Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) and mixed-effects ordinal regression models were used to assess intervention impact (T0:T1). Paired t-tests examined retention of change among intervention participants (T1:T2). One hundred forty children enrolled and 126 completed T1 (90% retention); 71 of 87 intervention participants completed T2(79% retention). Mean (SD) age was 6.9(1.9) yr, 62% female, 60% Black, and 42% low-income. Intervention vs waitlist controls had higher food preparation skills (p