Hip Hop Nutrition Education for Improving Children's Health Behaviors

Overseen By Gabriela I. Drucker, MS

Age: < 18

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Columbia University

Disqualifiers: Psychiatric disability, Terminal illness, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 22

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial explores how a fun and engaging Hip Hop Nutrition-Math Curriculum can improve kids' understanding of calorie counts and food choices. It aims to teach 5th graders to read menu boards and make healthier eating decisions, while also encouraging them to share their knowledge with their parents. The trial includes two groups: one will try the new Hip Hop curriculum, and the other will continue with their usual school nutrition program, Food Explorers. It suits 5th grade students in the New York Edge after-school program who have internet access and a working phone line at home. As an unphased trial, this study offers students a unique opportunity to participate in innovative educational research that could positively impact their health and learning.

Do I need to stop my current medications to join the trial?

The trial protocol does not specify whether participants need to stop taking their current medications.

What prior data suggests that this nutrition education program is safe for children?

Research has shown that the Hip Hop Nutrition-Math Curriculum is generally well-received and safe for children. This program uses hip hop themes to teach kids about healthy eating and math skills. Early results suggest that children enjoy the program and learn to make better food choices. Similar studies have reported no negative effects from participation. As an educational program, it does not involve drugs or medical procedures, so safety concerns remain minimal. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the Hip Hop Nutrition-Math Curriculum because it blends music and math to make learning about nutrition engaging and fun for kids. Unlike traditional programs that might focus solely on teaching food facts, this approach uses hip hop to capture children's attention and integrates math skills, which could enhance both their nutritional understanding and academic performance. By making the learning process interactive and culturally relevant, there's hope that children will adopt healthier eating habits more effectively and enjoyably than with standard methods.

What evidence suggests that this trial's treatments could be effective for improving children's health behaviors?

Research shows that the Hip Hop Nutrition-Math Curriculum, which participants in this trial may receive, helps children better understand calorie information on menu boards. Early results suggest that this program encourages healthier food choices among kids. Studies have found that after participating, children choose foods with improved calorie and nutrient quality. The curriculum also encourages kids to share their knowledge with parents, potentially spreading healthier habits. Overall, early evidence supports its effectiveness in promoting better eating behaviors among 5th graders. Meanwhile, the Food Explorers Program, serving as the control group in this trial, provides the usual care for nutrition education. ^{4 6 7 8 9}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Olajide A. Williams, MD

Principal Investigator

Columbia University

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for 5th grade students enrolled in the New York Edge after school program. To participate, they need internet at home and a working phone line. They must speak English and not have any major psychiatric or medical conditions that could impact their participation.

Inclusion Criteria

5th grade student participating in the New York Edge after school program

Exclusion Criteria

I do not have a severe mental health or terminal illness that could affect my participation.

Non-English speaking students

Absence of Internet access at home

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Intervention

Participants receive the Hip Hop Nutrition-Math Curriculum or the Food Explorers Program for ten weeks, meeting twice a week

10 weeks

20 sessions (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in menu board calorie literacy and food purchasing behavior

3 months

2 visits (in-person)

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Food Explorers Program
• Hip Hop Nutrition-Math Curriculum

Trial Overview The study tests an integrative Hip Hop Nutrition-Math Curriculum aimed at teaching calorie literacy using menu boards, improving food purchasing behaviors, and encouraging kids to share health messages with parents through 'Child Mediated Health Communication'.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Group 2: Hip Hop Nutrition-Math Curriculum Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

The intervention group will receive an tailored program for ten weeks, meeting twice a week.

Group II: Group 1: Food Explorers Program Active Control 1 Intervention

The control group will receive the usual care for nutrition program provided by the schools, called Food Explorers. The group will also be conducted ten weeks, meeting twice a week.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Columbia University

Lead Sponsor

Trials

1,529

Recruited

2,832,000+

National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

Collaborator

Trials

623

Recruited

10,400,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

In 2004, a significant number of public secondary schools (about 50-75%) taught comprehensive nutrition topics, while 33-66% covered physical activity and fitness topics, highlighting the importance of health education in addressing youth dietary and activity behaviors.

Professional development for health education teachers is crucial for improving the quality of instruction on nutrition and physical activity, suggesting that ongoing training should be prioritized to enhance student health outcomes.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Secondary school health education related to nutrition and physical activity--selected sites, United States, 2004. [2009]

The HOPE Curriculum Project, a web-based education program for pediatric practitioners, significantly improved participants' knowledge and confidence in managing pediatric obesity, as evidenced by pre- and post-knowledge questionnaires.

Participants also showed enhanced compliance with recommended practices for screening and managing obesity over time, indicating that the program effectively supports clinicians in implementing best practices.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Quality improvement in childhood obesity management through the maintenance of certification process. Huang, JS., Chun, S., Sandhu, A., et al.[2015]

The Hip-Hop to Health (HH) program has been shown to effectively prevent excessive weight gain in preschool children from low-income families through a large randomized controlled trial.

A new comparative effectiveness trial will assess how well HH can be adapted and delivered by peer educators within existing USDA-funded nutrition education programs, potentially enhancing the reach of successful obesity prevention strategies.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Adaptation and dissemination of an evidence-based obesity prevention intervention: design of a comparative effectiveness trial. Buscemi, J., Odoms-Young, A., Stolley, ML., et al.[2023]

The Hip-Hop to Health Jr. trial involved 618 black preschool children and demonstrated that a 14-week teacher-delivered weight control intervention significantly increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity by about 7.5 minutes per day and reduced screen time by nearly 28 minutes per day compared to a control group.

While the intervention improved physical activity and screen time, it did not lead to significant changes in BMI or dietary intake, highlighting the challenges of influencing diet and the need for comprehensive training and supervision for teachers delivering such programs.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Hip-Hop to Health Jr. Obesity Prevention Effectiveness Trial: postintervention results. Fitzgibbon, ML., Stolley, MR., Schiffer, LA., et al.[2022]

The Family-Based Hip-Hop to Health intervention was feasible for implementation in four Head Start preschools, but parent attendance at intervention sessions was low, which may affect its overall effectiveness.

Despite a downward trend in BMI Z-scores for both the intervention and control groups, obesity rates in the children remained higher than national averages, highlighting the ongoing challenge of obesity prevention in Hispanic families.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Family-based hip-hop to health: outcome results. Fitzgibbon, ML., Stolley, MR., Schiffer, L., et al.[2022]

Nutrition plays a crucial role in preventing three of the top four leading causes of death in the U.S., yet many healthcare providers lack adequate training in nutrition and physical activity recommendations.

There is an urgent need to enhance nutrition education for healthcare professionals by establishing curricular standards and competencies to better equip them in addressing lifestyle factors that can reduce disease risk.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The need to advance nutrition education in the training of health care professionals and recommended research to evaluate implementation and effectiveness. Kris-Etherton, PM., Akabas, SR., Bales, CW., et al.[2023]

The Hip-Hop to Health (HH) intervention, aimed at preventing obesity in low-income preschool children, did not show significant differences in child diet, physical activity, or BMI z-scores compared to the standard nutrition education (NE) curriculum among 153 caregiver-child dyads.

However, caregivers participating in the HH program experienced significantly greater weight loss than those in the NE group, suggesting that while the intervention may not have directly impacted children's immediate health behaviors, it could still benefit caregivers' health outcomes.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Comparative Effectiveness Trial of an Obesity Prevention Intervention in EFNEP and SNAP-ED: Primary Outcomes. Buscemi, J., Odoms-Young, A., Stolley, MR., et al.[2023]

The Hip-Hop to Health Jr. intervention, aimed at reducing BMI gains in preschool Latino children, did not show significant effectiveness in changing BMI, dietary intake, or physical activity compared to a control group over a 14-week period and follow-ups.

While the program was well-received by participants, its lack of effectiveness suggests that future interventions may need to be more culturally tailored and involve stronger parental engagement to address the specific needs of Latino communities.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Hip-Hop to Health Jr. for Latino preschool children. Fitzgibbon, ML., Stolley, MR., Schiffer, L., et al.[2022]

The integration of pop culture and music into a health curriculum for community health workers (CHWs) of Hispanic/Latino descent enhances their learning experience and engagement with health information.

This innovative teaching approach aims to improve CHWs' ability to access and utilize reliable health resources when serving their communities.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A New Approach to Health Literacy: Working with Spanish Speaking Community Health Workers. El-Khayat, YM.[2021]

Citations

1. longdom.org longdom.org/open-access-pdfs/hip-hop-nutrition-math-curriculum-study-protocol-for-a-randomized--control-trial-to-address-menu-board-calorie-literacy-.pdf

Hip Hop Nutrition Math Curriculum: Study Protocol for a ... This study is designed to test the effect of “Hip Hop. H.E.A.L.S (Healthy Eating and Living in Schools; HHH)”, an intervention targeting the use ...

2. clinicaltrial.be clinicaltrial.be/en/details/63646?per_page=100&only_recruiting=0&only_eligible=0&only_active=0

Effect of Hip Hop Nutrition-Math Curriculum - Clinical Tr... Data show that nearly 25% of children aged four to eight years consumed fast food on a typical day. These trends in fast food consumption ...

3. trialx.com trialx.com/clinical-trials/listings/240238/effect-of-hip-hop-nutrition-math-curriculum/

Effect of Hip Hop Nutrition-Math Curriculum This study is testing the efficacy of the integrative approach to: teach 5th grade children menu board calorie literacy as measured by our novel ...

4. researchgate.net researchgate.net/publication/387872254_Journal_of_Clinical_Trials_Hip_Hop_Nutrition_Math_Curriculum_Study_Protocol_for_a_Randomized_Control_Trial_to_Address_Menu_Board_Calorie_Literacy_and_Food_Purchasing_Behavior_of_Minoritized_Children?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7InBhZ2UiOiJzY2llbnRpZmljQ29udHJpYnV0aW9ucyIsInByZXZpb3VzUGFnZSI6bnVsbCwic3ViUGFnZSI6bnVsbH19

Journal of Clinical Trials Hip Hop Nutrition Math Curriculum The primary outcome is the child's food purchasing behavior as measured by the caloric and nutrient-density of purchased items with vouchers.

5. journals.sagepub.com journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15248399241240431

The Design and Acceptability of a Hip Hop Themed ... The Design and Acceptability of a Hip Hop Themed Integrated Nutrition Math Curriculum for Minoritized 5th Grade Students Using the Multisensory ...

6. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03952754

Study Details | Effect of Hip Hop Nutrition-Math Curriculum This program teaches children skills needed to understand restaurant-menu boards, how to make healthy food choices, while reinforcing the common core math ...

7. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38533745/

The Design and Acceptability of a Hip Hop Themed ... This article focuses on developing and implementing a multimedia, multisensory, and scalable Hip-Hop Healthy Eating and Living in Schools (HEALS) Nutrition- ...

8. researchgate.net researchgate.net/publication/281083726_Hip_Hop_HEALS_Pilot_Study_of_a_Culturally_Targeted_Calorie_Label_Intervention_to_Improve_Food_Purchases_of_Children

Hip Hop HEALS: Pilot Study of a Culturally Targeted ... We explored the effect of a culturally targeted calorie label intervention on food purchasing behavior of elementary school students.

9. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26272785/

Hip Hop HEALS: Pilot Study of a Culturally Targeted Calorie ... We explored the effect of a culturally targeted calorie label intervention on food purchasing behavior of elementary school students.