More Outside Your Door (MOYD): a Multilevel Intervention Promoting Traditional Diet and Physical Activity to Decrease Risk of Obesity in Alaska Native (AN) Preschoolers
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
Summary
The preschool age is a crucial period of growth and an optimal time to begin to establish healthy eating and physical activity habits leading to better food and activity choices into adulthood, thereby minimizing risk for obesity-related diseases and decreasing the cardiometabolic disparities in this Indigenous population. More Outside Your Door is a multi-level, randomized, stepped-wedge intervention trial designed to reduce the disparity of childhood obesity in Yup'ik Alaska Native children by increasing the proportion of nutrient-dense traditional and traditional-like foods offered and increasing physical activity, particularly outdoor activities related to traditional Yup'ik subsistence and lifestyle practices. This 5-year intervention trial targeting 3-5 year olds is conducted in partnership with Rural Action Community Action Program Head Start programs in 12 rural Alaskan communities, where each site is assigned annually to a wedge group to receive either a community-altered culturally-tailored 8-month traditional foods and activities curriculum intervention or the standard regional Head Start program intervention.
Description
The Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL CAP), which administers Head Start schools in rural Alaska, reports that 68% of Alaska Native children ages 3 to 5 years are overweight and 43% are obese. Diet, physical activity, and sleep hygiene are primary risk factors for childhood obesity, a risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases later in life. Notably, subclinical cardiovascular pathology can be detected as early as 3 years of age. Once living off the land and sea, Alaska Native (AN) people have suffered decades of colonization and in-migration, which have interfered with traditional fo…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 3–5 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * parent who identifies as Alaska Native (AN) * parental consent * enrolled in preschool in one of the12 participating Head Start programs * present at school for health screenings Exclusion Criteria: * lack of parental consent * does not have a parent who is AN
Interventions
- BehavioralWedge 1
Wedge1 will receive intervention consisting of culturally based physical activity module, built environment, community healthy lifestyle promotion
Location
- Alaska Native Tribal Health ConsortiumAnchorage, Alaska