The Empowerment of Low-Income Parents Engaged in a Childhood Obesity Intervention

Parents influence children's obesity risk factors but are infrequently targeted for interventions. This study targeting low-income parents integrated a community-based participatory research approach with the Family Ecological Model and Empowerment Theory to develop a childhood obesity intervention. This article (1) examines pre- to postintervention changes in parents' empowerment; (2) determines the effects of intervention dose on empowerment, and (3) determines whether changes in parent empowerment mediate previous changes identified in food-, physical activity-, and screen-related parenting. The pre-post quasi-experimental design evaluation demonstrated positive changes in parent empowerment and empowerment predicted improvement in parenting practices. The integrated model applied in this study provides a means to enhance intervention relevance and guide translation to other childhood obesity and health disparities studies.