Guide to Effective Programs
for Children and Youth

Hip-Hop to Health Jr.

OVERVIEW

Hip-Hop to Health Jr. is a program which aims to promote healthy eating and exercise habits in children ages 3-5 years. The program consists of a classroom discussion, physical activity period, and parent newsletter. An experimental evaluation of the program, in which Head Start programs were randomized, found that it was effective in preventing children from large increases in Body Mass Index (BMI), a measure of body fat relative to overall body size. The program had a limited impact on children’s dietary habits.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Minority (Black and Latino) children ages 3-5 years

The Hip-Hop to Health Jr. curriculum was developed for low-income minority pre-school children. The intervention is designed to be effective for both overweight children and children who are at-risk for becoming obese. The program occurs 3 times a week in 45-minute sessions for a total of 14 weeks. In each class, children first learn about a healthy eating habit or exercise activity for about 20 minutes. Then, children participate in an intense physical activity session for about 20 minutes. This activity session involves games, songs, and dancing. Each child’s parent also receives a weekly newsletter which contains information on what children are learning in their sessions, homework activities they can do with their child, and coupons for healthy food options. Two aerobics classes are offered each week to program parents.

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

Fitzgibbon, M. L., Stolley, M. R., Schiffer, L, Van Horn, L., Kauferchristoffel, K., & Dyer, A. (2005). Two-year follow-up results for Hip-Hop to Health Jr.: A randomized controlled trial for overweight prevention in preschool minority children. The Journal of Pediatrics, 146(5), 618-625.

Evaluated population: 778 children ages 3-5 recruited from 24 Head Start programs in Chicago. The children had a mean age of slightly over 50 months and were roughly half male and half female. 53% of the children were Black and 47% were Latino.

Approach: Randomization was done at the Head Start site level; 12 sites were assigned to the Hip-Hop for Health Jr. intervention program and 12 sites were assigned to a General Health Intervention (GHI) control condition. These sites, 12 of which were primarily black and 12 of which were primarily Latino were staggered so that the program would start in the Black schools during the first year and would start in the Latino schools the second year.

The intervention consisted of three 45-minute class sessions each week for a total of 14 weeks. Classroom sessions were divided into instructional activities and 20 minutes of intensive exercise. In addition, parents were sent a weekly newsletter which had health information for parents, homework assignments for families, and coupons. Parents also have the option of participating in twice-weekly aerobics classes. The general health control condition consisted of weekly 20-minute classes for 14 weeks. In these classes, children learned about topics such as dental health, visits to the doctor’s office, and getting health in an emergency. Parents in this condition also received a weekly newsletter which contained information about topics that the children were learning about in class. The general health control condition did not contain any information about dietary health. Data were collected on measures of body weight and height, Body Mass Index (BMI), parent-reported diet recall, physical activity levels of children, and children’s knowledge of healthy eating and exercise habits.

Results: Results for this study are based on the black schools which were the first to receive the program. At post-intervention, the program had no impacts on the BMI scores for the children. At first-year follow-up, children in the intervention condition had smaller increases in BMI than children in the control condition meaning that they had gained less weight based on their body type. Impacts were comparable for subgroups. Also, children in the intervention condition had smaller increases in BMI at year two than children in the control group.

The intervention program did not have any impacts at either follow-up period on total fat intake, dietary fiber intake, exercise frequency and intensity, or the amount of daily TV watching. At the year one follow-up, children in the intervention condition had a lower saturated fat intake than children in the control condition. This program impact was not observed directly after the program’s conclusion or at the two-year follow-up period.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

Program materials are available for purchase at: http://www.activelearn.net/hhd.html

References

Fitzgibbon, M. L., Stolley, M. R., Dyer, A. R., VanHorn, L., & Kauferchristoffel, K. (2002). A community-based obesity prevention program for minority children: rationale and study design for Hip-Hop to Health Jr. Preventative Medicine, 34, 289-297.

Stolley, M. R., Fitzgibbon, M. L., Dyer, A., Van Horn, L., Kauferchristoffel, K., & Schiffer, L. (2003). Hip-Hop to Health Jr., an obesity prevention program for minority preschool children: Baseline characteristics of participants. Preventative Medicine, 36, 320-329.

Program also discussed in the following Child Trends publication(s):

[Reference of either American Teens (KF) or Clark documents that discuss program; these will be linked to the actual docs online]

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

Evaluated participant ages: 3-5 / Program age ranges in the Guide: early childhood

Program components: child care/early childhood education; parent or family component; school-based

Measured outcomes: education and cognitive development; physical health

Program information last updated on 8/31/07