# Pediatric Practice-based Obesity Intervention to Support Families:  FITLINE

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · 2020 · $809,496

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends a staged approach to the management of pediatric
overweight and obesity, starting with Stage 1, Prevention Plus, which encourages families to improve lifestyle
choices related to eating and activity in order to improve BMI status. Most pediatric practices have difficulty
implementing these guidelines, however, due to limited time and access to weight loss experts to whom they
can refer their patients and families, and burden to families in accessing in-person weight loss services. In
response, our team developed the FITLINE pediatric practice-based referral program which provides practices
an easily accessible resource to help families make AAP-recommended lifestyle changes. The program
includes two components: (1) a pediatric practice-based component based on the Let's Go 5-2-1-0
intervention involving systems to assess and document BMI, a healthy habits screener and brief provider-
delivered intervention, referral to the FITLINE counseling program, and feedback from the FITLINE
nutritionist; and (2) a parent support component consisting of eight weekly FITLINE telephone counseling
calls by centrally located nutritionists to provide parents coaching tailored to their family's unique needs and
culture to help them set goals and make targeted lifestyle changes recommended by the AAP for Stage 1,
Prevention Plus, accompanied by a parent booklet. The proposed five-year cluster randomized controlled
pediatric practice-based trial will compare the effectiveness of two practice-based interventions on improving
diet and physical activity and reducing BMI among overweight and obese 8-12 year olds seen in pediatric
practice: (1) PP-FITLINE, consisting of the pediatric practice-based component plus FITLINE counseling and
booklet, or (2) PP-Materials, consisting of the same practice-based component, but only the parent materials
mailed over 8 weeks, with no referral to FITLINE counseling. Sixteen pediatric primary care practices will be
randomized to either the PP-FITLINE (N=8) or the PP-Mailings (N=8) condition. Five hundred and twelve
parents and their children ages 8-12 with a body mass index (BMI) of > 85th percentile (overweight or obese)
will be recruited from the practices to achieve N=400 at 12 month follow-up. Assessments will be completed
at baseline and 6- and 12-months post-baseline. The specific aims of this study are to determine the
effectiveness of the PP-FITLINE program in reducing BMI in overweight and obese children and improving
the child's diet and physical activity behaviors; explore possible mechanisms of the effect of the PP-FITLINE
program on BMI, diet and physical activity; and estimate the cost-effectiveness of the PP-FITLINE compared
with the PP-Mailing program. If found to be effective and cost-effective, the PP-FITLINE program will provide
an innovative model which can be scaled up for widespread implementation of Stage 1, Prevention Plus of
the AAP ex...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9957188
- **Project number:** 5R01HL130505-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** LORI PBERT
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $809,496
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-08-19 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9957188

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9957188, Pediatric Practice-based Obesity Intervention to Support Families:  FITLINE (5R01HL130505-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9957188. Licensed CC0.

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