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Randomized Controlled Trial of Healthy Harlem 's Get Fit Program: An After-School Intervention for Childhood Overweight and Obesity in the Harlem Children 's Zone
Year Published: 2020
A randomized control trial following 436 youth who had overweight or obesity in 12 Harlem Children 's Zone afterschool programs in New York. The study sought to assess the impact of Healthy Harlem 's Get Fit program, a 12-week afterschool program designed to improve students' physical activity and eating habits, on participants ' body mass index (BMI). Students participating in the Get Fit program experienced a decrease in BMI z-score, and a greater percentage of students in the treatment group improved their weight status than in the control group. However, there was no statistically significant effect on obesity. Additionally, the Get Fit program had an impact on BMI among girls but not among boys.
Program Name: Healthy Harlem 's Get Fit Program
Program Description:
Get Fit is an intensive, 12-week afterschool program offered by Healthy Harlem within Harlem Children 's Zone, where students identify and work toward health and fitness goals. Activities include 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; gender-specific discussions on health and fitness; goal-setting sessions and subsequent check-ins with Healthy Harlem staff; and cooking demonstrations and workshops for parents to support their children 's health goals. The prevention component of Healthy Harlem, offered to all students regardless of weight, provides opportunities for physical activity and healthy snacks in afterschool programs, as well as workshops for parents.
Scope of the Evaluation: Local
Program Type: Afterschool
Location: Harlem, New York
Community Type: Urban
Grade level: Middle School, High School
Program Demographics:
Harlem Children 's Zone (HCZ) primarily serves Black youth from low-income families. This study follows HCZ students in grades 6 through 11.
Program Website: https://hcz.org/our-programs/healthy-harlem/
Evaluator: Mabli, J., Bleeker, M., Fox, M. K., Jean-Louis, B., & Fox, M
Evaluation Methods:
This study uses a randomized control trial design to assess the impact of Healthy Harlem 's Get Fit plus prevention on childhood overweight and obesity for students receiving prevention services in 2013 or 2014. At Healthy Harlem, all students participate in the prevention component, which aims to combat weight gain through nutrition education and physical activity. Researchers assigned 436 6th-11th grade students with a BMI-for-age above the 85th percentile to either the Get Fit plus Prevention group (n=233), Healthy Harlem 's more intensive programming for students with overweight or obesity, or the control group, which received the prevention-only programming offered to all students (n=203). Student height and weight were measured immediately after random assignment, serving as baseline measures for assessing the program 's impact on BMI. Height and weight were measured again 5 days after the end of the program to compare changes in BMI z-scores over the 3-month period for both the treatment and control groups. An intent-to-treat analysis was used to compare changes over time for the control and treatment groups.
Evaluation Type: Experimental
Summary of Outcomes:
The randomized control trial found that Healthy Harlem 's Get Fit Program had a positive impact on the BMI and weight status of middle and high school students, particularly girls. Compared to the control group, participants receiving Get-Fit plus intervention experienced a decrease in BMI z-scores by –0.04. In addition, the intervention led to a reduction in the percentage of students who were overweight; however, it did not have a statistically significant effect on participants who were obese. Further, the Get-Fit intervention only impacted BMI for girls. Compared to the prevention-only group, girls receiving the Get-Fit intervention experienced reductions in BMI z-scores, but results were statistically insignificant for participants who were boys. And, as with all students, the Get-Fit intervention reduced the percentage of girls who were overweight, but had no significant effect on girls with obesity. Researchers conclude that providing a 3-month physical activity curriculum within afterschool programs, “...has the potential to improve BMI outcomes for middle- and high-school students in [communities of color].”
