Strong Teens for Healthy Schools Change Club: A Civic Engagement Approach to Improving Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Environments

NCT ID: NCT05867433

Last Updated: 2025-09-12

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

500 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-09-27

Study Completion Date

2027-04-15

Brief Summary

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Strong Teens for Healthy Schools (STHS) is a school-based, civic engagement program that empowers middle school students to improve their physical activity and healthy eating behaviors, improve their cardiovascular disease outcomes, and create positive change in their school health environments.

Detailed Description

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The investigators will conduct a cluster-randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of the Strong Teens for Healthy Schools (STHS) program on cardiovascular disease-related outcomes. STHS is a multi-level, theory-based civic engagement program to catalyze positive food and physical activity environmental change and improve cardiovascular disease-related health (CVD) outcomes among 6th and 7th-grade students.

Title 1 middle schools in Texas (n=20) with \> 40% Hispanic and Black students will be randomized at baseline to the intervention condition (STHS program) or control condition (will continue with usual care, as they will not be asked to add or remove any of their current, physical activity, healthy eating, or positive youth development programming) (n=20-25 students per school).

The investigators hypothesize that students who participate in STHS will have reduced MetS risk, improved positive youth developmental outcomes, and improved social and environmental outcomes immediately post-intervention and one year after study completion compared to students in a control condition.

Conditions

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Cardiovascular Diseases Nutrition Physical Activity

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

School-based cluster randomized controlled trial
Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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STHS Intervention

Participants in this group (10 schools) will participate in the STHS program.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

STHS Intervention

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

STHS program

The intervention group (10 schools) will participate in the STHS program. During the fall semester (September to December), the intervention group will receive 24 thirty-minute modules (or twelve 1-hour modules) that provide education on civic engagement, healthy eating, and physical activity. During the spring semester (February to May), the intervention group will receive 24 thirty-minute modules (or twelve 1-hour modules) that focus on implementing the school health environmental change project and receive support for maintaining individual-level healthy eating and physical activity behaviors.

Usual Care

Participants in this group (10 schools) will continue with usual care, as they will not be asked to add or remove any of their current, physical activity, healthy eating, or positive youth development programming.

Group Type OTHER

Usual Care

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

No STHS program

The usual care group will be offered the same activities as the intervention group after the conclusion of the research study.

Interventions

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STHS Intervention

STHS program

The intervention group (10 schools) will participate in the STHS program. During the fall semester (September to December), the intervention group will receive 24 thirty-minute modules (or twelve 1-hour modules) that provide education on civic engagement, healthy eating, and physical activity. During the spring semester (February to May), the intervention group will receive 24 thirty-minute modules (or twelve 1-hour modules) that focus on implementing the school health environmental change project and receive support for maintaining individual-level healthy eating and physical activity behaviors.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Usual Care

No STHS program

The usual care group will be offered the same activities as the intervention group after the conclusion of the research study.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* \> 50 6th and 7th grade students
* \> 40% economically disadvantaged students
* \> 40% Black and Hispanic students


* 6th or 7th grade student
* Attend a Title 1 middle school that is participating in the STHS intervention
* Read and understand English

Exclusion Criteria

* Participation in a weight loss program in the past 3 months
* Presence of a condition that prevents participation in physical activity
Minimum Eligible Age

8 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Texas A&M University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Locations

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Texas A&M AgriLife Dallas Center

Dallas, Texas, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Jacob S Szeszulski, PhD

Role: CONTACT

972-231-5362

Alexandra L MacMillan Uribe, PhD

Role: CONTACT

972-952-9275

Facility Contacts

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Jacob Szeszulski, PhD

Role: primary

972-231-5362

Alexander MacMillan Uribe, PhD

Role: backup

972-952-9275

References

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MacMillan Uribe AL, George A, McNeely A, Xin L, Largacha Cevallos E, Rethorst C, Seguin Fowler RA, Szeszulski J. Strong Teens for Healthy Schools: Protocol for evaluating a youth nutrition, physical activity, and civic engagement protocol. Front Public Health. 2025 Sep 17;13:1654678. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1654678. eCollection 2025.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 41041380 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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R01MD018214

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

IRB2022-1159D

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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