After a successful pilot of the father-focused childhood obesity program Dad and Me, Amy Mobley, assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, has received a $420,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue and expand the program.
“Most obesity prevention parent education programs focus on mothers,” Mobley says. “We have to recognize that the traditional role of a father is changing, and fathers have a significant impact on their child’s heath. More than 70 percent of fathers living with their children under the age of 5 fed or ate meals with them daily.”
Mobley felt inspired to work with fathers after watching her daughter and husband interact. She says, “I recognized the influence my husband had on our daughter. We know that lower-income men are more likely to be involved in meal planning, shopping and preparation compared to higher-income men, but research shows that low-income fathers tend to use more undesirable feeding practices.”
