NCT03321071

Healthy Summer Learners

Interventions to Promote Healthy Lifestyle and Academic Performance in Children During the Summer Months.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 1
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 180 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of South Carolina · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 6 Years – 9 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Summer vacation represents a "window of vulnerability" where dramatic declines in both health and academics occur for elementary age children. Currently, there are no summer programs that incorporate curriculum addressing both unhealthy weight gains and academic achievement simultaneously. This work represents an important step towards addressing important public health goals - obesity and learning - through a comprehensive program delivered during a timeframe - summer vacation - where substantial and long-lasting negative effects occur.

Detailed description

Summer vacation represents an important time away from the school setting for a majority of children attending public school in the US. This break is characterized by large amounts of free time and involvement in a wide variety of formal and informal activities, time spent with friends and family, and travel. Yet for many children, particularly those from low-income households, summer vacation represents a "window of vulnerability" in which dramatic declines in both health and academics occur. During the summer months (typically 3 months) children gain a larger amount of body weight compared to the amount of weight gained over the school year, and weight gain during summer reverses weight losses achieved during school. For academics, it is well established that children from low-income households experience greater declines in reading and math during the summer than their middle-to-upper income peers. Numerous programs that address these issues currently exist (e.g., summer school, summer weight loss or fitness programs). However, these programs are designed and delivered at the expense of the promotion or prevention of the other - academic focus without health or health focus without academics. Our long-term goal is to develop summer programming for widespread dissemination that addresses both lifestyle behaviors (i.e., physical activity and nutrition) and academic performance. The objective of the proposed study is to establish the effectiveness of an innovative "Healthy Summer Learners" (HSL) program for low-income, minority children. The rationale for the proposed research is that no summer programs incorporate curriculum that addresses both unhealthy weight gains and academic achievement simultaneously. This study seeks to fill this void by testing a prototype learning and health-oriented summer program focused on promoting physical activity and nutrition, along with content that provides quality learning experiences to develop reading and math skills. To accomplish this objective, this study will evaluate over 2 summers the effectiveness of a 6-week Healthy Summer Learners program delivered within a Boys \& Girls Club summer camp using a randomized design in a sample of rising 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. The aims of the study are Aim 1: Evaluate the impact of Healthy Summer Learners on children's weight gain and academic performance from beginning (end of Spring school year) to the end of summer (beginning of Fall school year), and Aim 2: Evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of Healthy Summer Learners to children, parents, and program staff.

Conditions

• Overweight and Obesity
• Academic Acheivement

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Healthy Summer Learners	Physical Activity Component. The physical activity component of Healthy Summer Learners is designed to engage children in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for at least 50% of the time. With 3 hours each day dedicated to physical activity, this translates into children accumulating 90 minutes of MVPA daily. This is 30 minutes above the 60 minutes of MVPA each day recommended by the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Nutrition Component. The nutrition component of Healthy Summer Learners is designed to provide healthy snacks and meals and nutrition education via standardized pre-existing curricula. Food/Beverage Guidelines. Meals will follow the USDA Nutrition Standards for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Academic Component. The academic component will consist of existing, effective academic programs focused on Math and Reading.
BEHAVIORAL	21st Century Summer Learning Center	Children in this condition will attend a 21st Century Summer Learning Program.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-05-01
• Primary completion: 2020-05-01
• Completion: 2021-05-01
• First posted: 2017-10-25
• Last updated: 2024-07-05
• Results posted: 2024-07-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States