 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Richard B. Elder, MBA, Susan Borra, RD, Elizabeth P. Davenport, MPH, RD, and Alison Esser. Senior Director, ACTIVATE, International Food Information Council Foundation, 1100 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 430, Washington, DC 20036
Purpose: Overweight/obesity is a major public health problem, particularly among children. Effective partnerships and communication programs are needed to develop childhood overweight prevention strategies that incorporate nutrition and physical activity and impact children at home, in school, and in the community.
Significance: ACTIVATE, a unique partnership of the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Sports Medicine, American Dietetic Association, International Food Information Council Foundation, International Life Sciences Institute Center for Health Promotion, and National Recreation and Park Association developed an overweight prevention communications program (Kidnetic.com) targeted to children ages 9-12 and their parents.
Methods: Two and a half years of unprecedented in-depth qualitative consumer research—focus group, ethnographic, in-home interviews and quantitative— was used to track consumer knowledge and perceptions of the overweight problem, define appropriate audiences for messages, and develop customized program elements.
Results: Based on the results of this research, the ACTIVATE partnership developed an innovative, interactive, and educational Web site that delivers healthy eating and physical activity messages to children and their families in ways that are engaging, relevant, and meaningful to help prevent childhood overweight. Kidnetic.com was launched in June 2002. With over 560,000 visits to the site since June, Kidnetic.com is effectively reaching kids and parents. The preliminary findings indicate a strong interest in the subject of physical activity and nutrition by the target audience.
Conclusion: Healthy lifestyle information can be successfully delivered to children and families through a Web site designed around their needs and interests.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Obesity
Related Web page: www.kidnetic.com
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.