Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
2001 S. Lincoln Ave.
URBANA,IL 61801
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
During the summer period, it is estimated that children, especially those from impoverished settings, could lose up to 30% of learning gained during the school year. This learning loss, also known as the summer slide, is especially pronounced among children from families affected by poverty. Additionally, the loss in learning is accompanied by risk for obesity. Obesity is a critical public health problem thataffects approximately 1 in 5 American children and adversely impacts chronic disease risk. Children's dietary intake, particularly of nutrient-dense dark green leafy vegetables, has persistently fallen below dietary recommendations. Similarly, there has been a decline in children's aerobic fitness since the 1970s. Therefore, we need research and education efforts targeting children affected by poverty during the summer months to promote their health and support learning.The proposed work will aim to address this issue by conducting an8-week summer program (ICAN) to preventsummer learning loss and promote health behaviors and reduce risk for childhood obesity among children affected by poverty. Additionally, our objectives are to educate future professionals in Nutrition, Dietetics, Kinesiology, Physical Education, and Community Health, in social and emotional learning and holistic approaches to supporting childhood health.The proposed work has a high potential to impact the lives of children given its focus on nutrition and physical activity approaches to prevent summer learning loss while promoting physical and behavioral health among children affected by poverty.
Animal Health Component
80%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
80%
Developmental
20%
Goals / Objectives
Overall ObjectivesThe overarching objective of the proposed work is to investigate the effects of an integrated (Research and Education) 8-week summer program (ICAN) on preventing summer learning loss and promoting health behaviors and reducing risk for childhood obesity among children from affected by poverty. Additionally, our objectives are to educate future professionals in Nutrition, Dietetics, Kinesiology, Physical Education, and Community Health, in social and emotional learning and holistic approaches to supporting childhood health.Research AimsSpecific Aim 1: To investigate the effects of combining an 8-week lutein intervention (6mg lutein/day) with an SEL-framed physical activity summer intervention (ICAN) on improving academic achievement and cognition among school children (6-11-year-olds) affected by poverty.Hypothesis 1A: Relative to a control group, ICAN participants, the treatment group receiving lutein-rich snacks and physical activity, will successfully maintain performance on the composite scores of KTEA-3 academic skills battery (i.e., reading, math, written language, and oral language).Hypothesis 1B: ICAN treatment participants will exhibit greater accuracy and faster reaction time during a computerized task designed and validated for assessment of executive function (flanker task), relative to a control group.Hypothesis 1C: Relative to a control, ICAN treatment participants will exhibit greater increase in amplitude and faster latency in encephalographic (EEG) indices of attention (i.e., P3) during the flanker task.Specific Aim 2: To investigate the effects of the ICAN program on improvement in carotenoid status and implications for academics and cognition in 6-11-year-olds from impoverished settings.Hypothesis 2A: ICAN treatment group participants will exhibit greater improvement in carotenoid status in neural tissue i.e., the macular (MPOD) and skin (i.e., Veggiemeter), relative to a control.Hypothesis 2B: Improvement in carotenoid status in neural tissue (i.e., MPOD), rather than skin carotenoids, will correlate with improvement in academic and cognitive outcomes even after adjustment for improvement in aerobic fitness among treatment group participants.Specific Aim 3: To investigate ICAN intervention effects on weight status and adiposity.Hypothesis 3A: Children participating in ICAN will maintain weight status (i.e., BMI-for-age percentile) and %Fat (bioelectric impedance), relative to a control group.Education Specific Aim 4: To implement a nutrition and physical activity-based curriculum - using SEL as a guiding framework - and taught using the principles of teaching personal and social responsibility (i.e., ICAN program).Hypothesis 4: The curriculum will be successfully adopted and implemented.Specific Aim 5: To improve nutrition literacy among elementary school children.Hypothesis 4A: Receiving nutrition lessons focused on SEL principles will improve nutrition (Student Nutrition Literacy Survey) among ICAN treatment group participants, relative to control.Specific Aim 6: To teach a special topics course to educate undergraduate and graduate students in Nutrition, Dietetics, Kinesiology, Physical Education (PE), and Community Health in the principles of SEL and age-appropriate healthy dietary and physical activity behaviors during childhood, to enhance the work force necessary for effective childhood obesity prevention.Hypothesis 5: Undergraduate and graduate students in Nutrition, Dietetics, PE, and Community Health will demonstrate an understanding and application of SEL principles to nutrition and physical activity-related behaviors.
Project Methods
Primary Research MethodsAcademic Achievement: The third edition of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievementwill be administered to assess academic achievement.Cognitive Function and ERPs: A modified Eriksen flanker paradigm will be used to assess cognitive control.The primary behavioral performance outcomes are accuracy and reaction time. Electroencephalogram activity (EEG) will be collected during the flanker task. The P3, a neural electric marker of attentional abilities, will be evaluated to measure attentional resource allocation and information processing speed.Macular Carotenoids: MPOD will be measured using a customized Heterochromatic Flicker Photometry (cHFP) technique and administered using a macular densitometer (Macular Metrics Corporation, Rehoboth, MA, USA).Physical Fitness: FitnessGram assessments will be used to measure the physical fitness of iCANS participants.Habitual Dietary Intake: Dietary intake prior to and during the final week of the program will be measured using a 7-day food record/log. Trained staff under supervision by a registered dietitian will enter food records into the Nutrition Data Systems-Research Version 2023 (Nutrition Coordinating Center, University of Minnesota) software. The primary variables derived from the food records will be the Healthy Eating Index.Plate Waste: We will directly measure breakfast and lunch consumption using a previously validated photography-assisted plate waste assessment technique during the program participation over the first and last 5 days of the program. Briefly, the methodology involves taking a photograph of each participant's tray immediately following item selection and after meal completion in the cafeteria.Physical Activity Assessment: Participants will also be asked to wear an accelerometer to assess habitual physical activity prior to starting the program and during the final 7 days of the program. Physical activity will be measured using a triaxial wGT3X+ accelerometer (ActiGraph LLC., Pensacola, FL, USA) placed on the waist at the right anterior axillary line on an elastic belt.Weight Status and Adiposity: Height and weight will be measured using a stadiometer and digital weighing scale (Seca Corporation [model 769], Hanover, MD). Body Mass Index (BMI, kg/m2)-for-age-percentile cut-offs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be used to classify children's weight status. Whole body adiposity (%Fat) will be measured using BIA (InBody 270: Biospace, California, USA).Primary Education OutcomesSEL Assessment: Social and emotional learning will be coded using the Tool for Assessing Responsibility-Based Education 2.0 (TARE 2.0), which is designed to evaluate fidelity of TPSR implementation. Students' perceptions of social and emotional learning will be evaluated using the Personal and Social Responsibility Questionnaire (PSRQ), previously validated with school children. The children will respond to 14 questions asking about their perceptions of personal and social responsibility at the beginning and end of the program. Additionally, children's Social Emotional Learning rating scale (SSIS-SEL) will be administered to measure perceived affective competence during the program.Nutrition Literacy: Nutrition literacy, defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand nutrition information and skills needed to make appropriate nutrition decisions, will be assessed using a validated survey (Student Nutrition Literacy Survey) for nutrition literacy assessment among elementary school children at higher risk for food insecurity. The Student Nutrition Literacy Survey is completed by the child and is comprised of 18 questions that included pictorial multiple choice, dichotomous, and matching questions in the domains of nutrition knowledge and attitudes, beliefs, and intent.