Objective Food portion size is an important determinant of intake in children. It remains unknown if children’s weight status and relative reinforcing value of food (RRVF) interact with portion size to affect intake. Design and Methods In a randomized crossover design, 25 normal-weight and 25 obese children, ages 8 to 10 years, consumed dinner once a week for 3 weeks. At each dinner, the same meal was served, but the portion size of all foods (chicken nuggets, hash browns, ketchup, green beans, brownies) and a sugar-sweetened beverage (fruit punch) varied across conditions (100%, 150%, 200%). Children’s RRVF was assessed using a behavioral choice task. Results There was a significant main effect of portion size condition (P=0.003) and weight status (P=0.0005) and a non-significant trend for a portion size-by-weight status interaction (P=0.108) on intake. Mean intakes across conditions (100%, 150%, 200%) were 801±57, 964±58, and 873±57 kcal for normal-weight children and 1041±57, 1129±57, and 1210±57 kcal for obese children, respectively. Neither the main effect of RRVF status nor the condition-by-RRVF status interaction was significant (P>0.48). Conclusions Environments that offer large portions of palatable foods affect all children’s intake irrespective of their weight status or how reinforcing they find food to be.

BackgroundChildhood obesity remains a serious concern in the United States and in many other countries. Direct experience preparing and tasting healthful foods and increasing activity during the school day are promising prevention approaches. Engaging parents and families remains an important challenge. Fuel for Fun: Cooking with Kids Plus Parents and Play is a multi-component school- and family-based intervention for 4th graders and their families intended to promote positive food and activity environments, policies and behaviors at the individual, family and school levels. This paper describes the design and evaluation plan.Methods/DesignFour cohorts of 4th-graders and their parents from 8 schools in 2 districts in the same Northern Colorado region are participating in a 4-arm cluster randomized controlled trial. Theory-based Fuel for Fun consists of 5 components delivered over 1 school year: 1) Cooking with Kids - Colorado; an experiential classroom-based cooking and tasting curriculum, 2) Cafeteria Connections; cafeteria-based reinforcements of classroom food experiences using behavioral economic strategies, 3) SPARK active recess; a playground intervention to engage children in moderate to vigorous activity, 4) Fuel for Fun Family; multi-element supports targeting parents to reinforce the 3 school-based components at home, and 5) About Eating; an online interactive program for parents addressing constructs of eating competence and food resource management. Outcomes include child and parent measures of fruit and vegetable preferences and intake, cooking, physical activity, sedentary behaviors and attitudes. School level data assess lunch plate waste and physical activity at recess. In-depth diet and accelerometry assessments are collected with a subsample of parent-child dyads. Data are collected at baseline, immediately post-intervention at 7 months, and at 12 month follow-up. We anticipate recruiting 1320–1584 children and their parents over the length of the project.DiscussionThe Fuel for Fun study design allows for impact assessment of school-, family- and online parent-based intervention components separately and in combination. Study strengths include use of theory- and evidence-based programs, valid child and parent self-report instruments, and objective measures of food, cooking, and physical activity behaviors at the individual, family and school levels. Parent involvement and engagement is examined through multiple strategies.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov registration number NCT02491294. Registered 7 July, 2015.

Background: The purpose of this study was to employ high-frequency accelerometry to explore parent-child physical activity (PA) relationships across a free-living sample. Methods: We recorded 7 days of wrist-mounted accelerometry data from 168 dyads of elementary-aged children and their parents. Using a custom MATLAB program (Natick, MA), we summed child and parent accelerations over 1 and 60 seconds, respectively, and applied published cut points to determine the amount of time spent in moderate-vigorous PA (MVPA). Bivariate and partial correlations examined parent-child relationships between percentage of time spent in MVPA. Results: Weak to moderate positive correlations were observed before school (r = .326, P < .001), after school (r = .176, P = .023), during the evening (r = .213, P = .006), and on weekends (r = .231, P = .003). Partial correlations controlling for parent-child MVPA revealed significant relationships during the school day (r = .185, P = .017), before school (r = .315, P < .001), and on weekends (r = .266, P = .001). In addition, parents of more active children were significantly more active than parents of less active children during the evening. Conclusions: These data suggest that there is some association between parent-child PA, especially before school and on weekends. Future interventions aiming to increase PA among adults and children must consider patterns of MVPA specific to children and parents and target them accordingly.

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