BEHAVIOR CHANGE FOR OBESITY PREVENTION IN YOUNG ADULTS

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The goal of this multi-state (8 states) project is to develop and test a web-based, dynamic nutrition education intervention to reduce the risk of obesity among college students (18-24 years old). The non-dieting approach (ND) focuses on enhancement of self regulation through avoidance of dieting, increasing awareness of hunger and satiety, and respecting one's own and other's body size. The proposed study will be the first to systematically assess the efficacy of the ND approach for obesity prevention in young adults. Primary outcomes will be weight and Body Mass Index. Secondary objectives are to test whether the ND program improves intermediary outcomes related to disinhibition, fruit and vegetable consumption, perceived activity levels, and aerobic capacity to a greater extent than the control condition. Young adults (n=2000) from eight universities will be randomized into either the treatment or control group. Assessment will occur at baseline, 3 months, and 15 months and include web-based questionnaires, along with physical assessments. Questionnaires will be completed on-line;anthropometric and fitness assessments, standardized across states, will be conducted at each institution's health center or nutrition laboratory. The treatment group will do online lessons which will include healthy eating, awareness of hunger and satiety, eating enjoyment, body size acceptance, and physical activity components based on the ND approach to maintaining healthy weight;the control group will receive only assessments. The intervention will be structured as 10 weekly educational modules delivered over one semester. Subjects will be able to interact with the website and monitor progress through individualized profile pages. State research teams are multidisciplinary, including nutrition education researchers, exercise physiologists, and health care personnel. The study has the potential to increase knowledge of mechanisms for weight management and obesity prevention in young adults. The completed web-based application (website) will be adaptable for population-based studies to prevent obesity.