389 - Comparison of a Virtual and In-Person Mentored Behavioral Change and Obesity Prevention Program’s Impact on Body Mass Index, Blood Pressure, and Health Behaviors - Team KiPOW OC!

Friday, April 28, 2023

5:15 PM – 7:15 PM ET

Poster Number: 389
Publication Number: 389.145

Dana H. Le, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, CA, United States; Angelina Lo, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Garden Grove, CA, United States; Amanda Hammel, UCI-CHOC, Orange, CA, United States; Celine H. Phong, UC Irvine School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, United States; Hillary Zieve, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, United States; Candice E. Taylor Lucas, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Dana H. Le, BS (she/her/hers)

Medical Student
University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine
Orange, California, United States

Background: Team Kid Power! Orange County (KiPOW OC) is an academic-community partnership that supports Title I elementary school school health policies and coaches 5th graders via a 20-week behavioral change coaching program. KiPOW OC has previously demonstrated significant improvement in participants’ BMI percentile (BMI%), systolic blood pressure (sBP), and mile-run time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, children were isolated, consumed less healthy foods, and engaged in less physical activity and more sedentary behaviors. To combat this, we piloted a virtual curriculum in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective:
To assess the difference in outcomes of the KiPOW OC virtual and in-person interventions on BMI%, sBP, dBP, and behavioral outcomes.

Design/Methods:
Quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design, without a control site, implemented over three academic years. In-person (2018-19): volunteer health coaches spent 1,400 minutes annually with 5th graders (Weekly: 25-min lesson, 20-min meal coaching, and 25-min active play session). Virtual (2020-21): 700 minutes (Weekly: 20-min lesson, 15-min guided play session)
BMI%, systolic (sBP) and diastolic (dBP) blood pressure, and HABITS questionnaire were collected pre- and post-intervention. Unadjusted analyses: Two-sample paired t-tests, Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Adjusted analyses: Benjamini-Hochberg correction.

Results:
Virtual: n=49. Ages 9-11 years, 61.2% with overweight or obese BMI, 53% female; BMI%, mean(SD): pre 79(27.2), post 69.3 (32.2), p=0.06; sBP change -7 mmHg, p=0.06; dBP change -6.6mmHg, p=0.00; days of exercise change +0.1, p=0.98; minutes of exercise change +14.9, p=0.35.

In-person: n=79. Ages 9-11 years, 53.2% with overweight or obese BMI, 61% female; BMI%, mean(SD): pre73.2(30), post 66.9(32.7), p=0.00, sBP change -6.6 mmHg, p< 0.00; dBP change -3 mmHg, p=0.00; days of exercise change +0.7, p=0.00; minutes of exercise change -4.4, p=0.71.

Conclusion(s): The virtual curriculum served as an important proof-of-concept, yet limitations included reduced active recess time and social engagement. Virtual curriculum saw a statistically significant decrease in dBP, but improvements in BMI%, sBP, and minutes exercising were not statistically significant - though this could be a sample size limitation. Participants in the in-person intervention exhibited statistically significant decreases in BMI%, sBP, and dBP, and increased days per week of exercise. In-person behavioral coaching may have a greater health impacts, but virtual provides opportunities for children to remain involved during social distancing.