Helping low-income children access healthy after-school and summer programs to prevent excess weight
Increasing Low-income Children's Access to Healthy Structured Programming to Reduce Obesity
This project gives financial help so low-income children ages 5–11 can join healthy after-school and summer programs to help prevent unhealthy weight gain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of South Carolina at Columbia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Columbia, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11322655 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If my child is eligible, researchers will provide subsidies or vouchers so they can attend supervised after-school programs and summer day camps that include active play and healthy meals and snacks. The team will work with local program sites to deliver consistent, structured days for participating children. They will collect information on children's physical activity, eating habits, and body measurements over time and compare results between families who receive support and those who do not. The goal is to reduce income-related differences in unhealthy weight gain by making healthy structured programming affordable.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are children ages 5–11 from low-income families who could attend after-school or summer day programs in the study area.
Not a fit: Children outside the 5–11 age range, those already enrolled in similar structured healthy programs, or families not in the targeted low-income groups are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could reduce unhealthy weight gain among low-income children by expanding affordable access to healthy, supervised programming.
How similar studies have performed: Prior work supports the 'structured days' idea and shows after-school and summer programs can improve activity and eating, but using financial assistance at scale to close income gaps is a relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
Columbia, United States
- University of South Carolina at Columbia — Columbia, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Weaver, Robert G — University of South Carolina at Columbia
- Study coordinator: Weaver, Robert G
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.