Husky Reads Effectiveness in Increasing Produce Preference and Food Group Identification in Preschool Children
Completed · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Childhood Obesity
In brief
Since 1998, UCONN undergraduate students have volunteered as part of a service- learning course to deliver a program called Husky Reads. Inspired by the nationally accepted American Academy of Pediatrics' program "Reach Out and Read," Husky Reads was first designed for promotion of health, nutrition habits and literacy by reading health-oriented books to young children in pediatric and health clinics. The Husky Reads curriculum now includes a series of 10 lessons designed to introduce preschool-age children to MyPlate while improving fruit and vegetable literacy. Undergraduate students enrolled in the Husky Reads service- learning course at UConn or college students participating in the paid summer internship program deliver the preschool lessons. Each team of 2-3 undergraduate students is assigned 2-3 early care classrooms to visit and deliver Husky Reads lessons to on a weekly basis. This series targets children at an early age because early childhood is a pivotal time to influence the path towards healthy behaviors and away from obesity. The effectiveness of the Husky Reads curriculum on a preschool age child's correct identification and liking of fruits and vegetables has not been established. The proposed evaluation uses a pre-test/post- test control group design with paired data at the child level to explore whether children who participate in Husky Reads have increased odds of correctly identifying the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) "MyPlate" program (MyPlate) and food group concepts and trying or liking select fruits and vegetables.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT03338257
- Run by
- UConn Health
- People needed
- 400
- Starts
- 2017-05-01
- Expected to finish
- 2023-05-10
- Last updated by the study team
- 2025-06-05
Who can join
Age: 3 and older, up to 6. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- child attending center or school based early care with high family enrollment in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP)
You may not qualify if…
- child whose parent has signed the "opt out" portion of the notification form.
Where it is running
- UConn Health — Farmington, Connecticut, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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