Benefits for African American and white low-income 7–10-year-old children and their parents taught together in a community-based weight management program in the rural southeastern United States

BACKGROUND: Low-income children and parents are at increased risk for developing overweight and obesity. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory study was to compare whether African American and white children and parents benefitted equally from a community-based weight management intervention delivered in two rural counties in southeastern North Carolina (N.C.). METHODS: We compared the efficacy of the Family Partners for Health intervention for African American and white children and their parents by testing the three-way interaction of the intervention group according to visit and race. RESULTS: African American children in the intervention group weighed significantly (P = 0.027) less than those in the control group, while white children in the intervention group weighed less than those in the control group, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. African American and white parents in the intervention group weighed less than their respective control groups across all three data collections, but the difference was only significant in the group of white parents (P = 0.010) at the completion of the study. At the completion of the study, African American children in the intervention group received significantly (P = 0.003) more support for physical activity than African American children in the control group. At both time points, white children in the intervention group were not significantly different from those in the control group. African American parents in the intervention group scored slightly worse in the stress management assessment compared to those in the control group, while white parents in the intervention group showed a significantly (P = 0.041) better level of stress management than those in the control group. At the completion of the study, African American parents in the intervention group scored somewhat worse in emotional eating self-efficacy compared to the scores of the African American parents in the control group, while white parents in the intervention group scored significantly (P < 0.001) better than those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: We were successful in affecting some outcomes in both African American and white children and parents using the same intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01378806 Registered June 22, 2011.