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Nutrition‐ and Fitness‐themed Youth Summer Camp Results in Sustained Dietary Changes

In the United States childhood obesity continues to impact a large proportion of youth, specifically children and adolescents in under‐served communities. To combat this public health issue programs are being developed by Cooperative Extensions and local Park and Recreation groups to reach those who are at high risk of malnutrition (over or under‐nutrition) and who are impacted by low activity during the summer months. Healthy Lifestyle Fitness Camp (HLFC) is an example. This camp is a free nutrition‐ and fitness‐themed six‐week summer day camp for low socioeconomic families in Fresno County, California. This camp specifically recruits overweight and obese motivated youth to facilitate improvement with habits related to diet and activity, and to support weight loss or maintenance while away from the structured school year. The objective of this quasi‐experimental community based study was to evaluate dietary pattern changes before and after involvement in HLFC 2011–2012 and 2014 (n=167) compared to the control group (n=50). The HLFC intervention consisted of weekly nutrition education (3 hours) using validated curricula (EatFit, MyPlate) taught by nutrition educators and UC CalFresh trained staff. During the nutrition education, youth taste‐tested 10 different fruits and vegetables in raw, cooked and mixed forms. Youth also participated in moderate level fitness activities (3 hours daily). Parents attended weekly meetings (averaging 1 hour weekly) using matched curriculum (Eating Smart Being Active) with similar health messaging. The control camp consisted of general themed activities and was not exposed to HLFC. Trained nutrition staff collected three‐unannounced dietary recalls from both groups pre‐, post‐, two‐months and six‐months post using validated dietary assessment programs. In previous reporting, waist to height ratio and weight loss were significant at post‐ and two month measurements (p<0.01), therefore it was of interest to identify if dietary changes played a role in this outcome. A repeated measures ANOVA determined mean dietary change differed significantly between time points for HLFC for calories (F=3.935, p=0.009), carbohydrates (F=4.028, p=0.08), sugar (F=3.315, p=0.21), and saturated fat (F=3.465, p=0.017). Post hoc test using the Bonferroni correction revealed that dietary changes were concentrated in pre‐ to –post time points for total calories (−381.1 kcals, p=0.43), carbohydrates (−54.4 grams, p=0.48) and saturated fat (−7.1 grams, p=0.18). Though non‐significant, all nutrients were maintained below pre‐ values at post‐ and two‐moth post but not at six‐month. The efficacy of summer programs to alter dietary patterns contributing to excess weight is an important part in the fight against childhood obesity.