A short sleep program in pediatric primary care to help prevent excess weight gain

Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy of a Brief Behavioral Sleep Intervention for Excessive Weight Gain Prevention in Primary Care

NIH-funded research Temple Univ of the Commonwealth · NIH-11322642

This offers a brief sleep-improvement program for school-aged children seen at routine pediatric visits to help prevent unhealthy weight gain.

Quick facts

Grant typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionTemple Univ of the Commonwealth NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Philadelphia, United States)
Project IDNIH-11322642 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

Your child would be offered a short behavioral sleep program delivered in primary care during well-child visits that focuses on improving bedtime routines and increasing sleep time. The team will use simple counseling, family-focused strategies, and objective sleep tracking (like an accelerometer) to see if sleep increases. Families will get follow-up contacts to support changes and researchers will monitor sleep and weight over time. The goal is to test whether this brief approach is doable in clinics and shows early signs of helping sleep and preventing excess weight gain.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal participants are school-aged children (about 6–11 years old) who attend routine well-child visits and have short sleep or are at risk for excess weight gain.

Not a fit: Children who already have established obesity or whose weight is not related to sleep problems may not gain benefit from this prevention-focused program.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the program could help children sleep more and reduce their risk of gaining excess weight as they grow.

How similar studies have performed: Adult trials and the investigators' prior randomized trials in children have shown promise for sleep interventions, but brief sleep programs delivered in primary care are largely untested.

Where this research is happening

Philadelphia, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.