weSIPsmarter: a digital program to reduce sugary drinks among rural Head Start preschoolers and their parents
Official title: weSIPsmarter: An Adaptation and Efficacy Trial to Evaluate a Behaviorally Based Digital Health Intervention Aimed at Reducing Sugary Drinks Among Rural Head Start Preschoolers and Their Parents
Run by University of Virginia · NCT07046351 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program will test whether weSIPsmarter, a parent-focused digital program, helps preschoolers and their parents in rural Head Start programs drink fewer sugary beverages.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 2 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 744 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | University of Virginia Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Christiansburg, Virginia) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | August 6, 2025 |
| Main results expected | February 1, 2028 |
| Study ends | February 1, 2029 |
| Registry record updated | December 16, 2025 |
| Trial ID | NCT07046351 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Ideal participants are parents or legal guardians and their 2–5-year-old child who are enrolled in a participating rural Head Start program in the designated Appalachia or southern Black Belt regions and can provide consent.
✕Probably not a fit
Families who do not live in the eligible rural areas, whose children are outside the 2–5 age range, who cannot participate in digital programming, or whose parents participated in the study's formative work are unlikely to be eligible or to benefit.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
This cluster-randomized trial will enroll 12 rural Head Start programs randomized to either the weSIPsmarter digital intervention or a control condition (weLearn2Read) to compare effects on sugary drink intake. The team will use a user-centered design process guided by the Adaptome framework to adapt an existing evidence-based sugary drink reduction program for parents in Appalachia and the southern Black Belt (RUCC 4-9). One parent-child dyad per household (children aged 2–5) will participate, and sites must meet enrollment and capacity requirements. Outcomes include changes in child and parent sugary beverage consumption plus measures of external validity and scalability.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could lower sugary drink intake among preschoolers and their parents in rural communities, reducing risks for obesity and related chronic diseases.
How similar studies have gone: Prior digital and school-based interventions have produced modest reductions in sugary drink intake, but few randomized programs have specifically targeted rural Head Start preschoolers, making this adaptation relatively novel.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
1. Head Start sites: Head Start sites will be located in or adjacent to a rural county (RUCC 4-9), fall within the planned Appalachia and Black Belt regions, have an enrollment of 120 families or more, and exhibit commitment and capacity to the scope of work.
2. Participants: Children enrolled must be between the ages of 2 and 5 year, be enrolled in a participating Head Start, and have a legal guardian ("parent," able under law to consent for their child to participate) who has enrolled in the trial themselves and provided consent for the child. Only one parent-child dyad per household is eligible to participate in the trial.
Exclusion Criteria:
* Parents could not have participated in formative work for this study completed under SBS 4522.
Where it's running
-
University of Virginia
Christiansburg, Virginia, United States Recruiting
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Jamie Zoellner, PhD RD
- Email: jz9q@virginia.edu
- Phone: (434) 924-5999
Similar studies
Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.
-
Cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness in children with obesity and autism
This study tests whether cardiorespiratory fitness and handgrip strength differ between children with obesity who have autism and those who do not, and how these fitness measures relate to body size, composition, and cardiometabolic health.
-
Obesity's effect on muscle insulin action and cardiorespiratory fitness in type 1 diabetes
This will see if muscle insulin resistance and excess weight are linked to lower cardio fitness in adults with type 1 diabetes compared with healthy controls before and after a high-intensity interval training program.
-
CARRII Native Intervention Optimization: Finding the Best Online Help for Native Women at Risk of Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancy
This trial tests different online components of CARRII to see which mix best reduces risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancy among Native women who could become pregnant and drink.
-
Use of a smartwatch to track hot flashes in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy
This project will try using a smartwatch to record hot flashes and other health signals in men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy and compare those records with daily survey reports.
-
HER2 FPBMC therapy for metastatic breast and prostate cancer
This study tests whether infusing patients with their own immune cells, armed with a HER2-targeting antibody, can help treat metastatic breast or prostate cancer.
-
MRI-guided focused ultrasound mesencephalotomy for opioid-resistant head, neck, and brachial cancer pain
This study will try MRI-guided focused ultrasound to make a tiny, precise lesion in the midbrain to relieve severe, opioid-resistant head, neck, or brachial cancer pain.
How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.