Effects of telephone support or short message service on body mass index, eating and screen time behaviours of children age 2 years: A 3‐arm randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Summary Background Few randomized controlled trial (RCT) interventions targeted children's early risk behaviours using telephone or short message service (SMS) support. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of telephone or SMS early intervention focusing on mothers' behaviours starting from late pregnancy to improve BMI, and eating and screen time behaviours of children aged 2 years in comparison with the control group. Methods A 3‐arm RCT was conducted in Australia, 2017–2019. Two arms involved the interventions using nurse‐led telephone or SMS support, delivered in nine stages from late pregnancy to age 2 years. The third arm was control. The primary outcome was children's objectively measured BMI and BMI z‐score at 2 years. Secondary outcomes included child eating and screen time behaviours as reported by parents at 2 years. Results At 2 years, 797 mother–child dyads (69%) completed the telephone survey with 666 (58%) completing weight and height measurements. The study found no statistically significant difference in BMI between the groups. The mean BMI for telephone support was 16.93 (95% CI: 16.73 to 17.13), for SMS 16.92 (95% CI: 16.73 to 17.11) or for control 16.95 (95% CI: 16.73 to 17.16) with a difference of −0.02 (95% CI: −0.31 to 0.27, p = 0.907) in telephone versus control, and a difference of −0.03 (95% CI: −0.30 to 0.24, p = 0.816) in SMS versus control. Telephone support was associated with higher odds of no bottle at bedtime (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.99; 95% CI: 2.01 to 4.47), family meals (AOR: 2.05; 95% CI: 1.26 to 3.33), drinking from a cup (AOR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.24 to 2.88), less screen time (<1 h/day) (AOR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.10 to 2.23) and not eating dinner in front of the TV (AOR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.09 to 2.06). SMS support was also associated with higher odds of no bottle at bedtime (AOR 2.30, 95% CI: 1.58 to 3.33) than the control. Conclusion The telephone or SMS support intervention had no significant effects on BMI, but was effective in increasing no bottle use at bedtime. Telephone support showed more effects than SMS on reducing screen time and eating behaviours.

Demographic Predictors of Mothers' Willingness to Vaccinate Young Children Against COVID-19, Get Tested and Isolate: A Cross-Sectional Survey Before and During the Greater Sydney Lockdown 2021, Australia

“…Briefly, the mothers and children were originally recruited for a trial aiming to investigate the effectiveness of early childhood obesity prevention using telephone support or text messages. The recruitment process and first 2-year outcomes of the original trial have been reported elsewhere ( 10 – 12 ). The study participants were recruited from four local health districts in NSW.…”

Economic evaluation of the Communicating Healthy Beginnings Advice by Telephone trial for early childhood obesity prevention

“…For mothers randomized to the telephone and SMS groups, the interventions were delivered at nine stages between the third trimester of pregnancy and child age 24 months, corresponding to key developmental milestones of child feeding and movement. The outcomes of the CHAT trial at 12 and 24 months have been reported elsewhere [14,15]. Mothers in all groups, i.e., interventions and control, could access usual care.…”

Estimation and feasibility of correction modelling for mother-reported child height and weight at 2 years using data from the Australian CHAT trial

“…At 2 years of age, 797 (69%) completed the telephone survey, [20,21] of whom 484 were excluded from this analysis due to lack of mother-reported child weight or height, 53 due to the lack of anthropometric measurement and 26 due to anthropometric measurement being completed beyond 30 days of telephone survey. In total 234 participants were included in this study (Fig.…”