Rural Disparities in Pediatric Obesity: The iAmHealthy Intervention

Rural Disparities in Pediatric Obesity: The iAmHealthy Intervention

The purpose of this study is to learn if providing a family-based group program using mobile health technology (iAmHealthy Healthy Lifestyles Program) is effective at improving child weight, nutrition, and physical activity.

This is a cluster-randomized study that will test the iAmHealthy Healthy Lifestyles Program versus a standard approach to weight loss in kids current in 2nd thru 4th grade. The iAmHealthy Healthy Lifestyles Program utilizes mobile tools to deliver the weight loss program to kids and families in rural settings. This study will include kids from schools in rural cities/counties, and their parents, and they will be randomly assigned to a group by their school.

The iAmHealthy Healthy Lifestyles Program is a rurally tailored telemedicine intervention. It delivers behavioral, nutritional, and physical activity topics for kids and their families. The total length of the intervention will be about 8 months, which coincides with the length of a typical school year.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Family lives in a rural area (city and/or county population less than 20,000)
• Child Body Mass Index (BMI) >85th and <99th percentile
• Child in 2nd thru 4th grade
• Child and Parent speak English
• Family is available at times intervention is offered

Exclusion Criteria:

• Child has physical limitation or receives an injury which significantly limits physical mobility
• Child has significant medical issue
• Child and Parents have significant developmental delay or cognitive impairment
• Child has a sibling who has already enrolled in the program
• Family moves to a non-participating school