Habitual and Neurocognitive Processes in Adolescent Obesity Prevention

Families from a school assigned to Cue and Implementation Intention-Based Intervention received an intervention targeting increased levels of healthy snacking and reduced levels of sugar sweetened beverage consumption. The intervention consisted of a 90-minute meeting with a trained Health Coach, two 20-minute phone calls, 4 tailored newsletters, and a series of emails and text messages. Cues for snacking and sweetened beverage consumption were removed or relocated and implementation-intentions were created to trigger alternative behaviors to snacking and sweetened beverage consumption in the presence of cues. Both interventions were delivered over 3-10 weeks depending on the self-directed pace of the participants. All participants completed a follow-up assessment 3 months after consent.

Families that were from a school assigned to Control received an intervention on sun safety that consisted of a 10-minute meeting with a trained Health Coach, 2 generic newsletters, an email, and a text message. Both interventions were delivered over 3-10 weeks depending on the self-directed pace of the participants. All participants completed a follow-up assessment 3 months after consent.