Impact of a Nutrition Education Curriculum on Snack Choices of Children Ages Six and Seven Years
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.
School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Address for correspondence: Oksana Matvienko, PhD, Assistant Professor of Nutrition, School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services, University of Northern Iowa, 147 Wellness/Recreation Center, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0241; Phone: (319) 273-3613; Fax: (319) 273-5958
ABSTRACT