A Nutrition and Parenting Program for Fathers and Their Pre-school Age Children

Father-Focused Nutrition and Parenting Program to Help Prevent Childhood Obesity in Preschool Age Children

This pilot study evaluates the feasibility and impact of a father-focused childhood obesity prevention program on paternal food-related parenting practices, mealtime behaviors and father/child nutrition and physical activity behaviors. Half of participants (low-income father and child dyads) will receive an intervention immediately while the other half of participants will serve as a wait-list control group and receive the intervention at a later date.

All participants (low-income father and child dyads) will receive an 8 session (2 hours/session) (DAD) including community-based, hands-on, nutrition and parent education intervention with between-session technology enhancements. Dyads will be randomly assigned within groups of 10 to DAD or a wait-list control group (DELAY). Assessments will be conducted at pre, post and 1 month post including a subset of data from cohabiting mothers to assess moderating influences on outcomes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• "Father" eligible for a federal food assistance or related program (e.g. SNAP) or living in an area with >30% poverty
• Having at least one preschool age child (ages 3-5 years old)
• At least 18 years of age and able to speak English

Exclusion Criteria:

• No presence or interaction with child during meal or snack times.