Interventions and Childhood Obesity - Research Proposal Example

Grant Proposal Executive Summary Obesity is a global problem, which is gradually becoming a challenge for children (Natale et al. 13-78). In this context, Brighter Futures has been putting efforts to help combat this problem. This non-profit camp follows three main approaches to address the obesity challenge: nutritional education, physical activities, and mental wellness. The location of the camp is on a perfect arena, on the Santa Barbara, California Campus. This location is effective to expose the affected children to a program, which will promote a healthy, active way of life. Brighter Futures is seriously in need of this grant. Owing to the significance, and the projected achievements, which will come with receiving the grants, Brighter Futures has already secured $28,000 from three foundations. The Health Affairs Foundation has donated $10,000, Mollen Foundation has contributed $10,000, and Clinton Foundation has contributed $8,000. In addition, the camp has worked closely with the UC Santa Barbara Recreation Center, Residential Life Office, Counseling Services, and the student-run Excursion. This is all in the efforts to combat the obesity challenge. The organization uses the three approaches to tackle the childhood obesity problem. It does so by educating the children aged 10-17 about appropriate nutrition, and ways of acquiring healthy options. The organization also has an affordable exercise program, including mental health experts to address issues that may lead to obesity. Brighter Futures recognizes that the children struggle with obesity; therefore, the primary objective is to contribute to a healthier future for these children. On the other hand, Brighter Future aims at expanding the alumni network, which will ensure that children maintain the healthy lifestyle changes once they come out of the camp. Conversely, failing to combat childhood obesity will enhance its development, which will in turn become a financial burden and health challenge for the individual (Kahn et al. 75). In addition, one will risk type II diabetes, bone and joint problems, cardiovascular diseases among others. In this regard, it is important to seek long-term measures to combat obesity in children. This brings to the camp’s objective to provide this intervention for California, by combating childhood obesity.Through nutritional education, physical activities, and mental wellness, brighter futures is sure of its way of delivering a working intervention. The camp’s nutritionists will educate the participants concerning proper nutrition, as well as how to obtain healthy eating options. In addition, the camp has an extensive exercise program, which is affordable and effective for the students. The exercise program caters for students with busy school schedules, budgeting issues, and a dislike for a standard gym. To address the obesity challenge effectively, bright futures has a team of able mental health experts. They come last, and the professionals seek to address the psychological perspective of over-eating, and emotional drives that add to this phenomenon.If the proposal is successful, and the camp obtains the donation, it will prolong the length of stay, allow for many members, and expand the mental and nutritional professionals. The $100, 000 grants will enhance the extension of the program’s timeline from three days to two weeks. In so doing, the participants will have substantial time to get awareness on new eating habits, and subsequently educate them on how to implement the habits in a home setting. Alternatively, the grants will see to the alteration of the previous schedule to a comprehensive schedule. In the schedule, week one will allow the participants to learn on nutrition and exercise. Week two will allow the participants to apply the theory in practice, which will allow the camp staff to oversee the eating habits of the participants. Means of Evaluating the Project’s Success Description of the Interventions and Childhood Obesity Interventions Brighter Futures’ overall interventions employ nutritional education, physical activities, and mental wellness. Currently, Brighter Futures runs the approaches held within the employed interventions in the weekends. The overall duration is three days, but the camp realized that there is a need to increase the duration. This is, therefore, the main concern, which will lead to the increased effectiveness of the approaches employed. The camp has professionals in these areas of interest that will help the participants in nutritional education, physical activities and mental wellness. There is empirical confirmation, which indicates that there is a connection amid lack of nutritional education, physical activities and mental wellness in prevalence of obesity in children. By acknowledging this, the camp based its interventions in these three aspects to prevent obesity from its root source (Natale et al. 13-78). Using the provided approaches, the camp will provide a combined approach to prevent obesity, which will help in combating risks associated with childhood obesity. Childhood Obesity The rate of obesity is increasing in child populaces across the globe. Obesity in childhood hasadverse impacts on the bodily, health and psychosocial well-being of the children. In addition, there is empirical evidence, which has shown a connection between childhood obesity, and later health risks in adult life. Therefore, halting the incidence of childhood obesity is public health precedence, Brighter Futures acknowledges this, and this is why the camp aims to take part in the fight against childhood obesity (Veugelers and Fitzgerald 432-435). On the other hand, nutrition, physical activities and mental wellness are the significant interventions in combating childhood obesity. In addition, obesity is a preventable disease, and the prevention interventions should start early to reduce the potential adverse effects in the future. In the state, some schools are doing a commendable job by encouragingstudents to consume lesser calories and low-sugar foods (Sevinc 1097-1105). Instead, the schools are encouraging students to consume fruits and vegetables. The schools are aware of the risks associated with childhood obesity, and this is why they actively take part in helping children. In the United States, some schools have taken the initiative by providing fruits and vegetables to their students. Although this is the case, the schools cannot provide such intervention approaches to many children; therefore, Brighter Futures came out to help the schools in preventing further development of childhood obesity (Veugelers and Fitzgerald 432-435). It isconsequently, vital for sponsors to come out and support the facilitation of working intervention programs. This is why Brighter Futures is seeking the 100,000 grants to provide quality, and healthy way of living for children in California. Elements used in developing the interventions The camp aims at addressing childhood obesity, and the participants will be children aged 10-13, and 14-17. The mental health professionals will aim at raising the value of the desired eating behavior, which are likely to appeal to the children(Veugelers and Fitzgerald 432-435). The nutrition experts, on the other hand, will offer the children a chance to taste healthy foods. Lastly, the physical experts will help the children to undertake non-competitive physical activity. This will enhance voluntary, and self-discipline towards physical activities. Overall, the camp will provide favorable incentives to the children, whom will be central to praise and awarding children based on accomplishment of simple tasks. The children, in turn, will develop skills, which will enhance self-confidence in the desired behavior. Most importantly, the camp will work closely with children to overcome the barriers to the desired eating behavior (Warren et al. 287-296). Nutritional Education Nutritional education is a significant intervention in fighting childhood obesity, in terms of managing, preventing and slowing the rate of development of obesity in children. The camp through its professionals will explore the children’s concept of health, which will help the camp identify a connection to foods that contribute to health. The camp feels it is essential to provide the participating children with an education program, which will allow them to learn about food in a non-nutrition approach (Warren et al. 287-296). Some of the topics to cover will include food traditions, various foods in different countries and food processing. Children will similarlystudy about the human body in an interactive approach. The camp will also provide children with activity books, which will have homework related to nutrition (Veugelers and Fitzgerald 432-435). Evaluation Brighter Futures will conduct all evaluations at the initial stage, and one month after the camp has conducted the intervention. In addition, the evaluations will rely on the phase of recruitment, but evaluation at the baseline will follow before randomization of the children. On the other hand, the camp will utilize evaluators from outside the camp to avoid bias issues, and this will follow at the final evaluation stage. The evaluation will also utilize the food frequency questionnaire, which is a 42-food item questionnaire. The questionnaire will rank the children as high/low/fat and high/low fiber consumers, in comparison with the populace, which will be central to the camp’s healthy nutrition approach (Warren et al. 287-296). Physical Activities In many cases, obese children do not take part in physical activities. This is one of the single-most important interventions in preventing, and managing obesity. The physical activity approach will aim at promoting activities in a daily routine, rather than particular leisure pursuits, which not all children would access. The camp will help the children explore the concepts of energy and activity, using team games, fun physical activities and quizzes. The evaluation on the physical activities will follow a questionnaire approach (Kahn 73-107). Students will provide answers to basic questions concerning their day, including all the activities such as walking, playing, and television viewing and computer usage. They will provide specific frequency and duration of the activities. This will take place in the camp, and the assessors will use the elements to evaluate the effectiveness of physical activities(Warren et al. 287-296). Mental Wellness Mental wellness is central to psychological interventions. In this context, mental health professionals in the camp will seek to understand and explain childhood behaviors, such as eating behaviors, which result to obesity. When children have the habit of repeating an eating activity in a consistent manner, this will result to increased automaticity. Some of the main diets repeated by children include snacks, which can cause obesity.In this regard, the mental health professional’s objective is to change the children’s perspective on food, and subsequently change the eating habits contributing to incidences of obesity. The professionals will rely on observation skills to evaluate the overall behavior of the children, once in the camp. In addition, the experts will evaluate the children based on behavior progress, goal setting, cognitive restructuring, efforts dealing with weight gain, and social support (Sevinc 1097-1105). Prior to the evaluation, the professionals will record the initial eating behavior, and compare it against the acquired behavior after the duration. In addition, the professionals will observe whether the children have acquired anything based on thoughts modification. The experts will also evaluate the effectiveness of this approach by observing the individual efforts by the children in regards to weight gain reduction (Kahn 73-107). Most importantly, this psychological approach will rely on the nutritional and physical activities approach to evaluate whether the child is in accordance with the fight against childhood obesity. Evaluation Approach: Anthropometry The camp will take measurements for the children in minimum indoor clothes such as shirt, blouse, trousers, skirt, underclothes, but they will be barefoot. There will be repetition of the measurements three times, and subsequent calculation of the mean. The staff in the camp will take similar measurements during all occasions to uphold continuity, and quality control. The evaluations follow standard measures described by prior scholars. The camp will use a stadiometer (‘Seca’ Somatometre, 200 cm x 0.1 cm)(Warren et al. 287-296). In addition, Dial scales will measure the weight (Healthometer Professional Scales, 148 kg x 500 g). Calculation of the body mass index (BMI) will follow the standard formula [Weight (kg)/height (m2)]. The camp will take skinfold measurement at five sites, which are the biceps, triceps, subscapular, supra iliac and calf utilizing Holtain skinfold calipers (0.2 mm intervals) (Warren et al. 287-296). The circumferences will be from the waist, hip, mid-upper arm and the head using the standard tape measure (0.1 mm intervals). Works Cited Baranowski, Tom, Cerin Ester and Baranowski, Janice. “Steps in design, development and formative evaluation of obesity prevention-related behavior change trials.” Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 6.6 (2009): 1-23. Print. Kahn, B Emily et al. “The effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity: A systematic review.” Am J Prev Med 22.4 (2002): 73-107. Print. Natale, Ruby, Scott Hapeman Stephanie, Messiah E Sarah, Shrack, Mesa Maria, Uhlhorn B Susan and Delameter Alan. “Design methods for evaluating an early childhood obesity prevention program in the childcare setting.” BMC Public health 13.78 (2013): 13-78. Print. Sevinc, Ozgur et al. “Evaluation of the effectiveness of an intervention program on preventing childhood obesity in Denizli, Turkey.” Turk J Med Sci 41.6 (2011): 1097-1105. Print. Veugelers, J. Paul, and Fitzgerald, L. Angela. “Effectiveness of school programs in preventing childhood obesity: A multilevel comparison.” Am J Public Health, 95.3 (2005): 432-435. Print. Warren, M J et al. “Evaluation of a pilot school program aimed at the prevention of obesity in children.” Health promotion international 18.4 (2003): 287-296. Print. Read More