FAN – promoting nutrition and physical activity to parents and their children, in Ticino Switzerland

• Register: ISRCTN
• Last refreshed on: 30 January 2023
• Main ID: ISRCTN48730279
• Date of registration: 07/12/2017
• Prospective Registration: No
• Primary sponsor: Ticino Department of Health and Social Affairs
• Public title: FAN – promoting nutrition and physical activity to parents and their children, in Ticino Switzerland
• Scientific title: FAN – Famiglia, Attività fisica, Nutrizione: Ticino Switzerland’s campaign for healthy weight
• Date of first enrolment: 15/06/2010
• Target sample size: 250
• Recruitment status: Completed
• URL: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN48730279
• Study type: Interventional
• Study design: Pre-post experimental study testing a social marketing/health promotion/lifestyle intervention on eating and physical activity behaviors of children and their parents (Prevention)
• Phase: Not Applicable

Countries of recruitment

Switzerland

Contacts

• Name: L. Suzanne Suggs

Key inclusion & exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria:
1. Families had to live in Ticino
2. Able to complete surveys in Italian
3. Have Internet access, an e-mail address, and a mobile phone
4. Have a child attending primary school, or first two grades of secondary school

Exclusion criteria:
1. Do not live in Ticino
2. Not able to complete surveys in Italian
3. Do not have Internet access, an e-mail address, and a mobile phone
4. Do not have a child attending primary school, or first two grades of secondary school


Age minimum:
Age maximum:
Gender: Both

Health Condition(s) or Problem(s) studied

Nutrition and physical activity
Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine
Nutrition

Intervention(s)

The intervention lasts eight weeks, during which children and their parents receive tailored information regarding nutrition and physical activity behaviors. Families are randomly allocated to one of three groups using Excel random draw command. Parents in group 1 receive the intervention by the Web (G1); parents in group 2 received the intervention by Web + e-mail (G2); and parents in group 3 by Web + SMS (G3). Children in all groups receive tailored print letters by post. All parents and all children are asked to complete a baseline, immediate post-intervention, and three month follow-up surveys. At baseline, parents complete a survey and children complete both a survey and a food consumption log of what they ate, with whom they ate and where for each meal occasion (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack) and a physical activity log (what physical activity they did, for how long, where and whith whom) each for 7 days. Immediately post intervention, this same procedure is followed (one survey for parents, one survey for children and two behavior logs (food intake and physical activity record). A follow up survey for parents and for children is offered three months post intervention completion. The post intervention and follow up surveys include satisfaction measures as well as self report behavior change and behavior change determinants.
Group 1: access to Website for parents. Print letters for children.
Group 2: access to Website and e-mail prompts for parents. Print letters for children.
Group 3: access to Website and SMS prompts for parents. Print letters for children.

The intervention consists of information, advice, and strategies about the importance of and ways in which to

Primary Outcome(s)

1. Eating behavior of children is measured using food diaries at baseline and immediate follow-up and through two items in the immediate post- and 3 months post-intervention surveys
2. Physical activity of children is measured using physical activity diaries at baseline and immediate follow-up and through two items in the immediate post- and 3 months post-intervention surveys
3. Eating behavior of parents is measured using an online survey with questions related to their fruit and vegetable, fiber, sugar and fat consumption at baseline, immediate post-intervention and 3 months post-intervention
4. Physical activity behavior of parents is measured using an online survey with questions related to their moderate and vigorous physical activity at baseline, immediate post-intervention and 3 months post-intervention

Secondary Outcome(s)

1. Satisfaction is measured using survey data collected at immediate post-intervention and 3 months post-intervention
2. Level of engagement is measured using Website log data collected during the 8-week intervention
3. Influence of people and places measured using food diaries, and collected at baseline and immediate post-intervention

Secondary ID(s)

CR13I3_156385 / 1

Source(s) of Monetary Support

Ticino Department of Health and Social Affairs, Health Promotion Switzerland, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung

Secondary Sponsor(s)

Health Promotion Switzerland

Ethics review

Status:
Approval date:
Contact:

Study procedures were reviewed by the Canton Ticino Ethics Committee and deemed exempt in accordance with Swiss law. In accordance with the recommendations of the Helsinki Declaration, both children and parents provided informed consent and voluntarily provided their data.

Results

• Results available: Yes
• Date Completed: 20/12/2012