Current Projects
Nurturing Needs Study
Study Title: Deconstructing food parenting approaches to obesity prevention for the highly food motivated child.
Funding Agency: NIH NIDDK
Grant Number: R01 DK132642
Goal: The goal of this project is to obtain rigorous basic behavioral evidence of food parenting approaches for preventing obesity and poor dietary outcomes among highly motivated children in families with low incomes.
More information can be found here.
Technology Effects on Child Health (TECH study)
Study Title: Longitudinal associations of preschoolers’ technology and digital medial (TDM) use and executive functioning: a mechanism linking TDM with young children’s weight status.
Funding Agency: NIH NICHD
Grant Number: P01 HD109876-01
Goal: The major goal of this project is to examine associations among TDM usage, executive functioning abilities, and BMI in preschool aged children.
More information about the project and enrolling can be found here.
Cooking HEalthy and Facilitating Early childhood Development study (CHEF-ED study)
Study Title: Re-establishing inter-generational cooking education and improving diet quality through an integrated parenting and healthy cooking program for low-income families with young children.
Funding Agency: USDA NIFA
Grant Number: USDA 2023-68015-40967
Goal: The major goal of this project is to develop a practical, scalable, digital intervention focused on healthy cooking, parental feeding practices, and child involvement in home food preparation for parents with low incomes.
Baylor EFNEP Study Texas – BEST study
Study Title: Integrating food Rx with best feeding practices for chronic disease prevention among EFNEP participants
Funding Agency: USDA NIFA
Grant Number: USDA 2022-68015-36380
Goal: The major goal of this randomized controlled trial is to examine the use of an efficacious online video delivery of feeding content with Food Rx to prevent chronic disease in young children.
Food For Thought Study
Study Title: Characterizing top-down dimensions of appetite self-regulation among preschoolers.
Funding Agency: NIH NICHD
Grant Number: R21 HD109362
Goal: The major goal of this project is to develop new measures of top-down appetite self-regulation to be used to produce rigorous evidence of cognitive developmental influences on healthy eating behaviors (i.e., healthy food choices, eating in moderation) and weight status during preschool.
Completed Projects
Strategies for Effective Eating Development – SEEDS
Study Title: Promoting the Self-Regulation of Energy Intake in African-American and Latino Preschoolers: A Family Focused Obesity Prevention Program
Funding Agency: USDA AFRI
Grant Number: USDA 2011-68001-30009
Goal: The goal of this study was to develop and test the efficacy of a scientifically based, culturally relevant, seven-week, family-based obesity prevention program focused on supporting child eating self-regulation and exploration of novel foods.
Food, Feeding, and Your Family -– FFYF
Study Title: Use of Engaging Online Videos in Conjunction with New Feeding Content to Enhance a Current EFNEP Program in the Prevention of Child Obesity
Funding Agency: USDA AFRI
Grant Number: USDA 2015-68001-23311
Goal: This study uses previously developed videos designed to help parents promote healthier eating behaviors in children ages 3 to 8 in conjunction with an existing EFNEP program titled Eating Smart - Being Active. The goal is to enhance an existing nutrition education program with a parenting component to prevent childhood obesity.
Feeding Styles and Child Eating Behaviors: An Observational and Questionnaire Approach in Low-income Hispanic Families
Funding Agency: USDA
Grant Number: USDA 3092-51000-063-01S
Goal: The overall objective of this study is to understand how parental feeding and child eating behaviors interact with the development of childhood obesity using a mixed method approach.
Parenting Influences on Child Self-Regulation, Energy Intake, and Weight – FINS
Funding Agency: NIH NICHD
Grant Number: R01 HD062567
Goal: The overall goal of this study is to comprehensively evaluate associations of child self-regulation, food intake, and weight status with parenting styles and practices in Hispanic and African American families preschoolers from low-income backgrounds.
