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| Name | Class |
|---|---|
| National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) | NIH |
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The purpose of this proof-of-concept study is to assess the initial signal of effectiveness of summer youth employment programs (SYEP) on understudied obesity-related outcomes in adolescents. This small-scale study is essential to identify early success and refine the intervention before scaling to a larger, more resource-intensive randomized trial. Specifically, this one-group pre-posttest study will:
Aim 1 (Primary): Evaluate if a 6-week SYEP provides an initial signal for effectiveness (maintenance or decrease in zBMI) over the summer.
Hypothesis 1: Adolescents who participated in a SYEP will maintain or decrease their BMI over the summer.
Aim 2 (Secondary): Evaluate changes in obesogenic behaviors (physical activity, sleep, sedentary, and diet) over the summer.
Hypothesis 2: Adolescents who participated in a SYEP will increase physical activity, reduce sedentary behavior, and improve sleep and diet quality over the summer.
Aim 3 (Secondary): Evaluate the feasibility of SYEP for obesity prevention intervention to inform intervention scalability.
Hypothesis 3: The SYEP program will be a feasible and acceptable intervention strategy for the prevention of obesity in adolescents over the summer.
Preliminary evidence suggests that summer employment can be an age-appropriate, structured intervention to prevent unhealthy changes in obesogenic behaviors among adolescents. While these findings are promising, none of the existing studies have measured changes in BMI over the summer or conducted comprehensive assessments of obesogenic behaviors, including diet, sedentary behavior, sleep, and physical activity. To address these gaps, this study proposes a small proof-of-concept study to assess the initial signal of effectiveness on understudied obesity-related outcomes in adolescents.
SYEPs are well-established, continuously operating initiatives over 60 years with proven benefits in academics, workforce development, and crime prevention, and may also act as obesity prevention strategies. Rather than creating new interventions, investing in and expanding access to SYEPs-programs with high demand yet limited capacity (with only ~28% of applicants matched with jobs each summer, leaving the majority on waitlists)-can offer a practical solution for youth obesity prevention.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Youth Employment Program | Experimental | Participants will work as junior summer camp counselors at a University of Houston camp, up to 24 hours/week, Monday-Thursday, 8:30 AM-3:30 PM (with a 12-1 PM lunch break), for six weeks from mid-June to the end of July. Participants will assist senior counselors with indoor/outdoor activities such as games, enrichment, and academics. On Fridays, from 10 AM to 12 PM, participants will attend professional development workshops on topics such as communication, teamwork, resume building, and job search skills. From 12-2:30 PM, undergraduate staff will lead social activities and mentoring. |
|
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Youth Employment Program | Behavioral | The intervention aims to employ adolescents in paid positions for six weeks during the summer, providing them with a structured, routine-based, and adult-supervised environment similar to that of the school year. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| zBMI | Height and weight will be directly measured by trained staff. Each measurement will be taken twice, and the average will be used for analysis. Changes in BMI will be expressed as Centers for Disease Control age-sex specific z-scores (zBMI). | Baseline and Week 6 (post) |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary behaviors | Sedentary behavior (minutes per day) will be measured using a wrist-placed ActiGraph GT3X on the non-dominant wrist for 8 days, ensuring at least 2 valid weekdays and 1 weekend. Cut points published by Hildebrand et al. will be used to classify activity intensities. | Baseline and Week 6 (post) |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Houston | Houston | Texas | 77204 | United States |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25642841 | Background | Czajkowski SM, Powell LH, Adler N, Naar-King S, Reynolds KD, Hunter CM, Laraia B, Olster DH, Perna FM, Peterson JC, Epel E, Boyington JE, Charlson ME. From ideas to efficacy: The ORBIT model for developing behavioral treatments for chronic diseases. Health Psychol. 2015 Oct;34(10):971-82. doi: 10.1037/hea0000161. Epub 2015 Feb 2. | |
| 28373062 |
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| Type | Date | Date Unknown |
|---|---|---|
| Release | Jun 2, 2026 | |
| Reset | Jun 26, 2026 |
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| Release Date | Unrelease Date | Unrelease Date Unknown | Reset Date | MCP Release Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 2026 | Jun 26, 2026 | |||
| Jun 29, 2026 |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D063766 | Pediatric Obesity |
| D015438 | Health Behavior |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D009765 | Obesity |
| D050177 | Overweight |
| D044343 | Overnutrition |
| D009748 | Nutrition Disorders |
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Single group pre- and post-test design
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| Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) |
MVPA (minutes per day) will be measured using a wrist-placed ActiGraph GT3X on the non-dominant wrist for 8 days, ensuring at least 2 valid weekdays and 1 weekend. Cut points published by Hildebrand et al. will be used to classify activity intensities. |
| Baseline and Week 6 (post) |
| Sleep Duration | Sleep duration (minutes per day) will be measured using a wrist-placed ActiGraph GT3X on the non-dominant wrist for 8 days, ensuring at least 2 valid weekdays and 1 weekend. Sleep duration will be determined using the heuristic algorithm looking at distribution of change in Z-Angle (HDCZA). | Baseline and Week 6 (post) |
| Screen Time | Screen time in hours and minutes (e.g., television, computer, video games, smart phones, tablets) will assessed via self-report during each 8-day behavioral assessment period. Daily average screen time duration in minutes will be calculated by summing the total screen time across completed daily logbooks and dividing by the number of days the diary was completed. | Baseline and Week 6 (post) |
| Diet Intake | Adolescents will self-report their dietary intake via NHANES 23-item Dietary Screener Questionnaire. Responses will be dichotomized based on their distribution into two categories: "did not eat/drink today" and "ate/drank today". Subsequently, items will be grouped into two broader categories: healthy foods (fruits, vegetables, 100% fruit juice, and milk items) and unhealthy foods (desserts, sugar-sweetened beverages, salty snacks, and fast food items). | Baseline and Week 6 (post) |
| Recruitment capacity (percentage meeting recruitment goal) | Recruitment capacity is the percentage meeting the recruitment goal. | Baseline |
| Retention | Retention (primary outcome) is the proportion of enrolled participants who completed both baseline and post-assessments for the primary outcome. | Baseline and Week 6 (post) |
| Fidelity | Investigators will measure fidelity through weekly direct observations using a short checklist to record content delivery with time logs and supervisor behaviors. | Weekly during intervention (Weeks 1-6) |
| Attendance | Attendance will be tracked as the proportion of days attended out of total offered workdays using employer time sheets. | Weekly during intervention (Weeks 1-6) |
| Acceptability | Acceptability will be assessed through individual interviews conducted via Microsoft Teams with adolescents about barriers and facilitators to participation. | Week 7 (Follow-up) |
| Pierce B, Bowden B, McCullagh M, Diehl A, Chissell Z, Rodriguez R, Berman BM, D Adamo CR. A Summer Health Program for African-American High School Students in Baltimore, Maryland: Community Partnership for Integrative Health. Explore (NY). 2017 May-Jun;13(3):186-197. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2017.02.002. Epub 2017 Feb 24. |
| 32146639 | Background | Yazel-Smith L, El-Mikati HK, Adjei M, Haberlin-Pittz KM, Agnew M, Hannon TS. Integrating Diabetes Prevention Education Among Teenagers Involved in Summer Employment: Encouraging Environments for Health in Adolescence (ENHANCE). J Community Health. 2020 Aug;45(4):856-861. doi: 10.1007/s10900-020-00802-2. |
| 30296721 | Background | Modestino AS, Paulsen RJ. Reducing inequality summer by summer: Lessons from an evaluation of the Boston Summer Youth Employment Program. Eval Program Plann. 2019 Feb;72:40-53. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2018.09.006. Epub 2018 Sep 24. |
| D009750 |
| Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases |
| D001835 | Body Weight |
| D012816 | Signs and Symptoms |
| D013568 | Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms |
| D001519 | Behavior |