Health Promotion in the New Haven Public Schools (2007-2009)
Complete Project
Title:
Health Promotion in the New Haven Public Schools (2007-2009)
Status:
Completed
Topic:
Nutrition / Diet;School-based
Funding Source:
Community Foundation for Greater New Haven; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Funding Period:
2007-2009
Study Design:
Pre/post feasibility study
Purpose:
To evaluate nutrition and physical activity programs for elementary school children, as well as promote healthy lifestyle and reverse the trend of obesity among students and their families.
Further Study Details:
The PRC collaborated with the New Haven Public Schools’ District Wellness Committee on a feasibility study to implement the Nutrition Detectives™ and ABC for Fitness™ programs in selected elementary schools. Nutrition Detectives is a 90-minute program that teaches 5 clues to make healthful food choices based on food labels and ingredient lists. ABCfor Fitness guides classroom teachers to offer brief bursts of physical activity spread over the school day, ideally adding up to 30 minutes of daily activity. Year 1 (2007-08 school year) focused on an implementation and evaluation of Nutrition Detectives in fifth grade classes in 4 intervention and 4 control schools. Year 2 (2008-09 school year) included expansion of NutritionDetectives to fifth grade classes in 5 additional schools, along with implementation and evaluation of ABC for Fitness in fourth grade classes in these schools. Relevant student outcomes incorporated into the evaluation plan included nutrition label literacy and standardized scores for 4 measures of physical fitness.
Findings:
Fifth grade students who took part in Nutrition Detectives improved their ability to make healthful food choices, as measured by a 15% increase in scores on a standardized quiz. Fourth grade students in schools trained to offer ABC for Fitness showed statistically significant gains in two measures of fitness (curl-ups and right angle pushups) between the beginning and end of the 2008-09 school year. However, since teachers were not mandated to offer ABC for Fitness and no control schools were available to compare pre/post fitness scores, it is unclear whether the improved fitness scores were a t result of the ABC for Fitness program. This study has helped to lay the foundation for expanded obesity prevention efforts in the New Haven Public Schools.
Eligibility:
Fourth and fifth grade students in selected schools in the New Haven Public Schools.
Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center