![\"Amy](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Mobley_IMG_7507.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cMost obesity prevention parent education programs focus on mothers,\u201d says lead researcher Amy Mobley<\/a>, assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences<\/a>. \u201cWe have to recognize that the traditional role of a father is changing, and fathers have a significant impact on their child\u2019s heath.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 70 percent of fathers living with children under the age of 5 feed or eat meals with their children daily, according to Mobley.<\/p>\n Sixty Connecticut fathers with preschool-aged children are participating in the program, which consists of eight weekly two-hour sessions, during which time each father will interact with his child in various activities from healthy snack preparation to physical activities and games.<\/p>\n The study is directed at lower-income families eligible for federal food assistance programs. Lower-income men are more likely to be involved in meal planning, shopping, and preparation compared to higher-income men, and research shows that low-income fathers tend to use more undesirable feeding practices, Mobley says.<\/p>\n To keep the fathers engaged between sessions, the study will include a web\/phone app where fathers will be able to post and communicate with one another, while receiving motivational texts and posts from the team.<\/p>\n \u201cThe program will be very interactive,\u201d Mobley notes. \u201cWe\u2019ll have activities to demonstrate cooking, meal planning, and physical activities that will carry over to the home.\u201d<\/p>\n Mobley felt inspired to work with fathers after watching her daughter and husband interact.<\/p>\n \u201cAs childhood obesity rates remain high in the United States, novel interventions are needed in early life,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Mobley is collaborating with UConn\u2019s Department of Human Development and Family Studies<\/a>, UConn Health<\/a>, and Cooking Matters<\/a>. Cooking Matters, a program designed to teach parents and children how to shop and prepare healthy foods on a limited budget, is managed through the Community Health Network of Connecticut Foundation<\/a> (CHNCT).<\/p>\n She has assembled a team of partners including Tania Huedo-Medina<\/a>, assistant professor of biostatistics in the Department of Allied Health Sciences<\/a>; Kari Adamsons<\/a>, associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, whose focus is on fathering; Kim Gans<\/a>, professor in the department of Human Development and Family Studies, as a community-based nutrition intervention expert; and Ann Ferris<\/a>, former head of the Department of Nutritional Sciences and founding director of UConn Health\u2019s Center for Public Health and Health Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n