Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of the Study Participants.*
| Characteristic | Experimental Group (N = 110) | Control Group (N = 114) | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex — no. (%) | |||
| Male | 58 (53) | 66 (58) | 0.50 |
| Female | 52 (47) | 48 (42) | |
| Race or ethnic group — no. (%)† | |||
| Race | |||
| White | 60 (55) | 64 (56) | 0.99 |
| Black | 26 (24) | 27 (24) | |
| Asian | 4 (4) | 4 (4) | |
| Multiple or other | 20 (18) | 19 (17) | |
| Ethnic group | |||
| Hispanic | 27 (25) | 19 (17) | 0.19 |
| Non-Hispanic | 83 (75) | 95 (83) | |
| Age — yr | 15.3±0.7 | 15.2±0.7 | 0.50 |
| Weight — kg | 85.2±16.8 | 86.1±17.0 | 0.70 |
| Height — cm | 167.4±8.8 | 168.9±9.1 | 0.21 |
| BMI | 30.4±5.2 | 30.1±4.7 | 0.64 |
| Weight status‡ | |||
| Overweight | 40 (36) | 44 (39) | 0.78 |
| Obese | 70 (64) | 70 (61) | |
| Body fat — % of total weight | 31.9±8.3 | 31.2±8.2 | 0.55 |
| Annual household income — no. (%) | |||
| <$30,000 | 30 (27) | 31 (27) | 0.71 |
| $30,000–$59,999 | 38 (35) | 34 (30) | |
| ≥$60,000 | 42 (38) | 49 (43) | |
| Parental educational level — no. (%)§ | |||
| Some high school | 2 (2) | 5 (4) | 0.56 |
| High-school diploma or GED certificate | 23 (21) | 20 (18) | |
| Some college or vocational school | 28 (25) | 24 (21) | |
| Associate’s degree | 7 (6) | 14 (12) | |
| Bachelor’s degree | 33 (30) | 33 (29) | |
| Some graduate school or graduate degree | 17 (15) | 18 (16) | |
| Daily physical activity level — MET | 1.53±0.18 | 1.54±0.18 | 0.85 |
| Television viewing — hr/day | 3.0±1.8 | 2.8±1.4 | 0.46 |
Plus–minus values are means ±SD. Means were compared with the use of the Student’s t-test and proportions compared with the use of Fisher’s exact test. Percentages may not sum to 100 owing to rounding. GED denotes General Educational Development, and MET metabolic equivalent.
Race and ethnic group were reported by the parents of the participants. “Multiple” included white–black (8 participants), white–Asian (3), white–black–Asian (1), and white–Arabic (1). “Other” included Latino or Latina (8 participants), Hispanic (7), Brazilian (2), Cape Verdean (2), Puerto Rican (4), Latino or Latina–Brazilian (1), Spanish (1), and American (1). Comparisons of baseline characteristics according to ethnic group are provided in Table S1 in the Supplementary Appendix.
Participants at or above the 85th percentile for BMI but below the 95th percentile were classified as overweight, and participants at or above the 95th percentile were classified as obese. The BMI range was 23.2 to 28.8 for overweight participants and 26.7 to 50.7 for obese participants.
The educational level listed is for the father or mother, depending on which parent had the higher level of education.