Healthy Buddies Manitoba

Healthy Children Clinical Trial

Official title:

Healthy Buddies Manitoba: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Effectiveness Trial of Peer Mentoring for Healthy Eights in Children.

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01979978
• Other study ID #: H2009:205
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: November 1, 2013
• Last updated: November 1, 2013
• Start date: September 2009
• Est. completion date: May 2013

Study information

• Verified date: October 2013
• Source: University of Manitoba
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

School-based interventions are generally ineffective for preventing weight gain in children. In 2007, a group from the University of British Columbia, developed a program called Healthy Buddies, that relied on peer mentors to help young children adopt healthy living behaviours. Pilot studies revealed that the program effectively prevented weight gain in children. This trial had never been tested on a large scale using a more scientifically sound study design. We developed a large school-based randomized trial to overcome that limitation and test the hypothesis that that a school-based peer-led healthy living program would reduce adiposity and increase physical activity among children 6-12yrs old.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 647
• Est. completion date: May 2013
• Est. primary completion date: June 2010
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 7 Years to 12 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participating schools need to meet the following eligibility criteria: (1) were within provincial jurisdiction, (2) had a minimum of 200 students per school, (3) offered grades 1 through 6.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children will be excluded if consent was not received from parents or if they had a condition that limited participation in physical activity.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Elementary School Age
• First Nations
• Healthy Children
• Rural and Urban

Intervention

Other:
• Healthy Buddies Curriculum
Each week, intermediate students will receive a 45-minute healthy-living lesson plan from their classroom teacher. Later that week, intermediate students will serve as peer mentors ("Buddies"), teaching a 30-minute lesson to their younger students. The Physical activity (i.e."Go Move!") component of the lesson plans includes 30-minutes of structured aerobic fitness sessions, called fitness loops, with the student pairs twice weekly. The dietary ("Go Fuel!") component includes lessons about distinguishing nutritious and from unhealthy (nutrient poor-energy rich) foods and beverages. The body image ("Go Feel Good!") component, the students are taught to value classmates based on individual traits rather than peer influence.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Canada	Manitoba Institute of Child Health - University of Manitoba	Winnipeg	Manitoba

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Manitoba

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Canada, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Waist circumference	Waist circumference at the top of the iliac crest measured in duplicate with a flexible tape.	10 months
Primary	BMI-Z score	Body mass index Z score is calculated from weight/height2 and normalized to population normative data for age (months) and sex.	10 months
Secondary	Physical activity	Objectively measured using daily pedometer counts recorded by teachers.	10 months
Secondary	Healthy living knowledge and behaviours	Questionnaires regarding healthy foods and food frequency.	10 months
Secondary	Self efficacy	Questionnaire.	10 months

External Links

•   Intervention Website