Table 2. Baseline and Postprogram Outcomes Among Children and Parents, Overall and by Parent Health Literacy Status (Completers Only)a, Effect of Parent Health Literacy Status on Outcomes of a Family-Based Childhood Obesity Treatment Program, Virginia, 2013–2015.
| Outcome | Overall |
Parents With Low Health Literacy |
Parents With High Health Literacy |
Baseline Low vs High Health Literacy |
Postprogram Low vs High Health Literacy |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Postprogram | Δ | Baseline | Postprogram | Δ | Baseline | Postprogram | Δ | Mean (SD) Difference | P b | Mean (SD) Difference | P b | |
|
Mean (SD) | |||||||||||||
| Children | |||||||||||||
| Body mass index, z score | 1.91 (0.45) | 1.87 (0.49) | −0.04 (0.24) | 1.88 (0.48) | 1.82 (0.55) | −0.06 (0.24) | 1.93 (0.44) | 1.89 (0.47) | −0.05 (0.16) | −0.05 | .65 | −0.06 | .62 |
| Physical activity, minutes MVPA/wk | 159.3 (167.2) | 212.2 (173.4) | 52.9 (224.5) | 125.7 (164.5) | 166.6 (172.7) | 41.0 (217.3) | 179.3 (167.7) | 239.3 (170.4) | 60.0 (231.3) | −43.4 | .31 | −63.8 | .15 |
| Fruit and vegetables, servings/d | 3.2 (2.6) | 3.0 (2.5) | −0.2 (3.0) | 3.6 (3.2) | 3.4 (2.9) | −0.2 (3.51) | 3.0 (2.2) | 2.8 (2.3) | −0.2 (2.7) | 0.6 | .38 | 0.5 | .41 |
| Sugar-sweetened beverages, oz/d | 22.0 (22.0) | 13.0 (14.7) | −9.1 (21.0) | 20.4 (17.0) | 12.6 (14.2) | −7.8 (20.5) | 22.9 (24.2) | 13.2 (15.1) | −9.7 (21.5) | −2.4 | .67 | −0.6 | .81 |
| Screen time, watch televisionc | 3.1 (1.7) | 2.8 (1.8) | −0.3 (1.7) | 3.4 (2.1) | 2.9 (2.0) | −0.5 (2.0) | 2.9 (1.5) | 2.7 (1.8) | −0.2 (1.6) | 0.6 | .25 | 0.2 | .64 |
| Screen time, play video game/computerc | 2.2 (1.8) | 2.2 (1.7) | −0.04 (1.8) | 3.0 (2.1) | 2.6 (1.9) | −0.4 (2.4) | 1.9 (1.5) | 2.0 (1.5) | 0.1 (1.6) | 1.1 | .03 | 0.6 | .18 |
| Quality of life, total (100-point scale) | 70.7 (14.8) | 73.7 (12.3) | 3.0 (10.8) | 71.2 (12.8) | 74.9 (9.4) | 3.6 (12.2) | 70.4 (15.8) | 73.1 (13.5) | 2.7 (10.2) | 0.7 | .85 | 1.7 | .59 |
| Parents | |||||||||||||
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 36.39 (8.76) | 36.12 (8.93) | −0.27 (1.00) | 35.57 (7.45) | 35.32 (7.44) | −0.25 (0.91) | 36.79 (9.62) | 36.50 (9.40) | −0.28 (1.05) | −1.21 | .60 | −1.18 | .61 |
| Physical activity, minutes MVPA/wk | 86.0 (156.9) | 196.4 (192.7) | 110.4 (208.0) | 50.3 (72.5) | 221.1 (197.9) | 170.8 (208.0) | 100.9 (179.6) | 186.0 (191.9) | 85.1 (205.1) | −54.5 | .08 | 37.6 | .48 |
| Fruit and vegetables, servings/d | 2.5 (1.7) | 3.1 (2.2) | 0.6 (1.6) | 2.3 (1.9) | 3.3 (2.7) | 1.0 (1.7) | 2.6 (1.6) | 2.9 (1.9) | 0.4 (1.5) | −0.03 | .55 | 0.4 | .51 |
| Sugar-sweetened beverages, oz/d | 20.0 (22.9) | 10.5 (10.0) | −7.0 (17.8) | 23.6 (26.7) | 14.2 (16.6) | −9.5 (19.9) | 18.2 (20.8) | 12.4 (14.0) | −5.8 (16.8) | 5.9 | .33 | 1.8 | .65 |
| Quality of life, no. unhealthy days in last 30 days | 12.2 (11.2) | 10.5 (10.11) | −1.6 (8.6) | 12.2 (12.2) | 10.2 (9.6) | −2.0 (9.0) | 12.0 (10.7) | 10.6 (10.4) | −1.4 (8.5) | 0.5 | .86 | −0.7 | .80 |
Abbreviations: MVPA, moderate to vigorous physical activity; SD, standard deviation.
Seventy-one children completed the study (parental low health literacy, n = 23; parental high health literacy, n = 48); 67 parents completed the study (low health literacy, n = 22; high health literacy, n = 45). Health literacy items asked participants to rate perceptions of their health literacy skills on a 5-point Likert scale. Items focused on the degree to which people need help in reading health care materials (18), can confidently complete medical forms (19), and perceive their reading ability (20). Responses were summed to produce a continuous score, ranging from 3 to 15, with higher scores indicating higher health literacy. Sample sizes for each variable fluctuated slightly due to missing responses and outliers.
P values calculated using independent t tests.
Units: 0 = no screen time, 1 = <1 h/d, 2 = 1 h/d, 3 = 2 h/d, 4 = 3 h/d, 5 = 4 h/d, 6 = ≥5 h/d.