# Clinical Trial of the Fit Families Multicomponent Obesity Intervetnion for African American Adolescents and Their Caregivers: Next Step from the ORBIT Initiative

> **NIH NIH R33** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2022 · $746,364

## Abstract

Abstract: The alarming rates of obesity among children and adults, particularly among ethnic minorities, has
been identified by the National Institutes of Health as one of the most serious public health challenges facing
our nation in the 21st century. South Carolina (SC), part of the “Stroke Belt,” has the 3rd highest obesity rate
among US children at 39.2% and the 12th highest obesity rate among US adults at 32.3%. Unfortunately,
African Americans in SC are disproportionately more likely to be overweight or obese (75.7% of adults, 40% of
children), which places them at considerable high-risk for obesity-related diseases such as asthma, Type 2
diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, and some forms of cancer. This public health challenge
is compounded by the lack of available intervention strategies specially tailored to meet the unique needs of
ethnic minorities. This R01 randomized clinical trial, informed by the results from a recently completed
NHLBI/NICHD center grant (“FIT Families Project,” U01HL097889; PI-Naar) that followed the National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute, Obesity Related Behavioral Intervention Trials (ORBIT) model for developing
behavioral interventions, will examine the efficacy of FIT Families compared to a credible attention control
condition. Each of four evidence-based behavioral components of FIT Families (home-based services,
contingency management, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral skills training) were culturally tailored
and optimized through a proof of concept sequential multiple randomized trial that produced weight loss among
African American adolescents, a large and understudied population. One hundred and eighty obese African
American adolescents aged 12-17 and their primary caregiver will be randomly assigned to one of two
treatment conditions: 1) FIT Families or 2) Home-Based Family Support (HBFS) attention control condition. It
is predicted that FIT Families will lead to greater reductions in adolescent and caregiver percent overweight,
and increases in physical activity and the use of evidence-based weight management behaviors (self-
monitoring of diet and exercise). If effective, FIT Families, which was carefully developed and adapted through
successive Phases of ORBIT, has the potential to reduce disparities in obesity-related diseases
(cardiovascular and metabolic) by addressing multiple risk factors among African American families and their
adolescent children. Thus, this project has high significance in terms of potential public health impact and
reduction in obesity related healthcare costs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10417377
- **Project number:** 4R33HL155793-02
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** PHILLIPPE Belton CUNNINGHAM
- **Activity code:** R33 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $746,364
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10417377

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10417377, Clinical Trial of the Fit Families Multicomponent Obesity Intervetnion for African American Adolescents and Their Caregivers: Next Step from the ORBIT Initiative (4R33HL155793-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10417377. Licensed CC0.

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