Short Term outcomes of a Faith-based Obesity Attenuation and Prevention Program for Low Income African American Children: CHHIL Feasibility and Efficacy Study

Background: The CHHIL is a faith-based, culturally tailored and multi-level obesity attenuation and prevention program for African American (AA) children and adolescents in low-income church community. The study objective is to test the feasibility and efficacy of 8 weeks CHHIL intervention. Methods: This is a sequential mixed methods study design, examining the feasibility and efficacy of 8 weeks CHHIL intervention conducted at a low income neighborhood AA church. All sessions were conducted at the AA church, after Sunday services. Parents and children separately attended seven weekly group sessions focused on lifestyle modification. Participants: 1) an AA church member; 2) age 8-17 years; 3) Child BMI of 85%-95% or parent with BMI ≥ 25 or family history of type 2 diabetes. Eleven families (child and at least one parent/guardian) were recruited. At the baseline and then every week for 7 weeks children’s nutrition, physical activity (PA) and anthropometric information was obtained. Primary outcomes were changes in dietary intake/patterns and BMI at the end of 8-weeks CHHIL program. Changes in outcome measures were assessed using paired samples t-tests, ANOVA and non-parametric tests. Results: Of the 11 children and adolescents who enrolled, seven (63%) completed the 8-weeks program. Overall there was a trend among the children and adolescents to decrease total calories (kcals), protein, and carbohydrates consumed overtime. Participants consumed significantly lower levels of sodium from baseline to end of the program (P<0.001). At the end of 8 sessions (7 weeks), no significant change in BMI and other anthropometric parameters was seen at the end of the program. Conclusion: The CHHIL program may be a promising option for health behaviors changes and thus changes in weight for church-based ethnic minorities. However trend towards improvements in dietary behaviors were observed, no impact on anthropometric measures were seen requiring further research with longer program duration. With increasing burden of health disparities, childhood obesity prevention research must now move towards identifying how effective intervention components can be embedded within health, education and care systems and achieve long term sustainable impacts.