GEMS: Girls health Enrichment Multi-Site Program

Principal Investigator
Mary Story, PhD, RD, University of Minnesota

Funding
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Objective
Development of an after-school obesity-prevention program for African-American girls and the findings from a 12 week randomized, controlled pilot trial conducted by the University of Minnesota, as part of a multi-site study to test interventions to reduce excessive weight gain in African-American girls.

Methods
Fifty-four 8-10 year-old African-American girls from three inner-city elementary schools were recruited as participants for this 12-week pilot study. Participants completed baseline measures and were then randomized into an intervention group or a control group. The evaluation of the pilot study was primarily based on intervention process measures and trends in key measurements, including Body Mass Index (BMI), diet, physical activity, and psychosocial measures. Because of its low sample size and short duration, the pilot study did not have sufficient power to test for between-group differences in changes in BMI, which would be a primary outcome in a larger scale trial or in other key outcome measurements.

Girls randomized into the intervention group participated in a 12-week after-school program called Girlfriends for KEEPS where “KEEPS” stood for “Keys to Eating, Exercising, Playing, and Sharing.” Intervention meetings, designed in a “club meeting” format, were held twice a week for one hour after school. The intervention also included a family component consisting of weekly “Take Home Packs” and two Family Fun Nights.

Results
Recruitment goals were met. After adjustment for baseline level follow-up, BMI was not different between the treatment groups, an expected finding since this was a pilot. At 12-weeks follow-up, differences between the intervention and control groups were in the hypothesized direction of change for the majority of variables for girls and parents. Process evaluation results showed the after school program was well attended and well received by girls and parents.

Conclusion
An after-school obesity prevention program for low-income African-American girls is a promising model for future efforts.

Materials
The GEMS: Girlfriends for KEEPS after-school curriculum and family materials are not available at this time. For information, contact: smyth@epi.umn.edu

Publications
Story M, Sherwood N, Himes J, Davis M, Jacobs D, Cartwright Y, Smyth M, Rochon J. An after-school obesity prevention program for African-American girls: The Minnesota GEMS pilot study. Ethnicity & Disease, 13(1) Supplement 1:54-64, 2003.