Faculty Publications

Impact Of A Nutrition Education Curriculum On Snack Choices Of Children Ages Six And Seven Years

Document Type

Article

Keywords

children, dietary behavior assessment, food choices, nutrition education

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior

Volume

39

Issue

5

First Page

281

Last Page

285

Abstract

Objective: To report the impact of nutrition education on snack choices of children ages 6 and 7 years. Design: In this quasi-experimental study, students at 2 intervention schools participated in a 4-week after-school program, NutriActive Healthy Experience, that included nutrition lessons, healthy snacks, and parent education. Students at 2 comparison schools did not receive any intervention but participated in the assessment of snack choices. Intervention and comparison students were offered the choice of 3 out of 10 snack items at baseline, at the end of the 4-week program, and 4 months later. Setting: An after-school program in the school setting. Participants: 36 intervention and 23 comparison kindergarten and first-grade students. Main Outcome Measures: Students' snack choices were coded and analyzed. Analysis: t test, repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Immediately after the program, the intervention group showed a 25.7% improvement in choosing more healthful snacks, and the comparison group showed an 18.2% decline. At 4 months, the intervention group's score was 33.3% higher than baseline and the comparison group's score remained 18.2% lower than baseline (time by treatment interaction, P= .023). Conclusions and Implications: Intervention students were significantly more likely than comparison students to choose more healthful snacks when given the opportunity. The snack test may be a useful alternative for assessing snack choices of children ages six to seven years. © 2007 SOCIETY FOR NUTRITION EDUCATION.

Department

School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services

Original Publication Date

9-1-2007

DOI of published version

10.1016/j.jneb.2007.01.004

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