Researchers with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Obesity Health Disparities Research Center will examine whether simple targeted interventions, focused on developing good habits — implemented at home — can be successful in reducing the number of children who are overweight.
Sarah Salvy, Ph.D., and Gareth Dutton, Ph.D., in UAB’s Division of Preventive Medicine will test an innovative combination to prevent childhood obesity via a federally funded home visitation program.
“We will be teaching mothers to form healthy habits, right in the comfort of their homes,” said Salvy, principal investigator of the program. “Our intervention is imbedded within an ongoing home visitation program, making it an ideal infrastructure in which to address obesity among underserved mothers and children.”
By modifying the habits and the environment in the context of a home-based intervention, researchers hope to create synergy that will help families be healthier.