Project Summary
During the past 30 years, childhood obesity has doubled for preschool children; nearly
25% of all preschool children in the United States are overweight or obese. As the obesity
epidemic in preschool children rises at an alarming rate, it is familial, school, and society’s
responsibility to promote healthy eating and physical activity to keep our children healthy.
Research to promote healthy eating and physical activity requires a trans-disciplinary approach.
As the primary gatekeepers, parents (guardians) have a crucial role in influencing their
children’s knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and practice regarding food and eating habits. While
parents have a powerful impact on their children’s development and learning, many factors play
a role and parents must not be made to feel solely responsible for every hurdle their children
may encounter. School-based interventions and community resources involving a family focus
as well as environmental change components have been effective in promoting healthy
behaviors.
Reading Roundup program is a sustainable literacy-based family and school nutrition
and physical activity intervention program with enhanced parental/familial and
community/school-based input and involvement. The program utilizes developmentally
appropriate, literature books that emphasize healthy eating and physical activities for children
between the ages of 3-to-6-years; in addition activities that promote healthy eating and physical
activity are provided during structured time periods in the supporting school. The program is
also provided to parents and the community as an extension of involvement and resources. It
builds upon the original effective Reading Roundup program by incorporating children, teachers,
and parents/families living in South Dakota. This proposal is aimed at evaluating the
effectiveness of the Reading Roundup curriculum based on behavioral and environmental
changes in South Dakota Head Start children. The project utilizes a trans-disciplinary approach
to plan and deliver the curriculum to promote healthy eating and physical activity in preschoolaged children. The curriculum will expand Head Start capabilities and promote program
sustainability vita utilization of trained South Dakota State University (SDSU) undergraduate and
graduate students working in collaboration with SDSU faculty, a Cooperative Extension
Educator, and South Dakota Head Start agencies. SDSU studetns will actively participate in the
design, implementation, and evaluation fo the Reading Round-up curriculum and will participate
in data collection.
The specific aims is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Reading Round-up curricluum
based on behavioral and environmental changes in South Dakota Head Start children based on:
(1) insitute an effective and sustainable reading program that promotes healthy eating and
physical activity for preschool children resulting in a decrease in prevalence of childhood
overweight and obesity; and (2) build capacity, stakeholder ownership and sustainability of the
program by providing the developed intervention on a statewide and regional basis with support
from Cooperative Extension Services, university faculty and Head Start programs.