Children with ASD are at risk for overweight and obesity, and children with autistic disorder are at greater risk for weight problems than children with Asperger's disorder/PDD-NOS. Further research is needed to identify factors related to overweight in children with ASD.
Pregnant women are interested in improving health behaviors and found a brief technology-based e-health intervention feasible, convenient, and user-friendly. In-home technology appears to be a feasible and convenient approach to addressing the multiple health behavior change needs of pregnant women.
Objective
This pilot study presents results for a parent-based educational intervention targeting mealtime behaviors plus nutrition among families of young children (M age: 5.0±1.2 years) with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).
Methods
We recruited nine caregivers who participated in the six-session intervention and completed baseline and post-treatment assessments.
Results
Children’s mean daily glycemic levels decreased from 185±46 mg/dl to 159±40 mg/dl (p<0.001). There were also decreases in problematic parent and child mealtime behaviors. There was no change in children’s dietary intake indicators.
Conclusions and Implications
It appears promising that our targeted behavior plus nutrition intervention can improve glycemic control and behavior for young children with T1DM. Our next step will be to modify the intervention to improve our nutrition education modules. Ultimately, we plan to test the intervention in a large randomized clinical trial to examine if it can yield improvements to children’s diet and glycated hemoglobin levels.
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