A School-based Gardening Obesity Intervention for Low-income Minority Children

The investigators recently completed an NIH R21 grant, which was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the effects of a gardening, nutrition, and cooking program in 375 low-income Hispanic students living in Los Angeles. Preliminary results from this study show that intervention compared to the control students have reductions in BMI parameters and waist circumference, increases in daily intake of dietary fiber and vegetables, and improved lipid profiles. The investigators want to expand and replicate this study by: a) using a cluster randomized school design; b) implementing the program during school hours; c) increasing sample size; d) lengthening the intervention period to one school year; e) collecting comprehensive metabolic measurements on the child; f) enhancing family workshops; g) collecting more parental data; and h) developing and evaluating sustainability strategies. Thus, the overall goal of this project is to test the effects of a large school-based gardening, nutrition, and cooking RCT (called "Sprouts") on dietary intake, dietary-related behaviors, obesity, and related metabolic disorders in low-income Hispanic youth and their families in Central Texas. Sixteen elementary schools will be randomized to either: 1) Sprouts intervention or 2) Control (delayed intervention). At each intervention school, the investigators will build edible gardens; form and train Garden Leadership Coalitions (GLCs); teach 20 Sprouts in-school lessons to the students; and teach nine family-based Sprouts lessons throughout school year. The following measures will be obtained for students at baseline and post-intervention: height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, body composition (via bioimpedance), blood pressure, glucose, insulin, and lipids (via voluntary fasting blood draws), dietary intake, and related psychosocial behaviors (e.g., preference/motivation/self-efficacy to eat FV). The investigators will also measure anthropometrics, dietary intake, and related dietary psychosocial variables on the parents at baseline and post-intervention. After the intervention year, the investigators will provide a series of training workshops and resources to the GLCs and schoolteachers to sustain the Sprouts program in subsequent years. The investigators will measure the sustainability employed by each school by process logs/surveys, structured interviews, and school observations.

Inclusion Criteria: * Weight status: Normal weight children (age- and sex-specific BMI\50% Hispanic, and therefore, we expect the majority of our students and parents to be Hispanic. Exclusion Criteria: * Children or parents presently taking medication(s) or diagnosed with any disease that could influence dietary intake or body composition * Previously diagnosed with any major illness since birth (e.g. chronic birth asphyxia, cancer, etc.) * Any physical, cognitive, or psychological disability that would prevent participation in the study.