Nutrition Detectives / ABC for Fitness: Nutrition and Physical Activity Education for Elementary School Children
Complete Project
Title:
Nutrition Detectives / ABC for Fitness: Nutrition and Physical Activity Education for Elementary School Children
Status:
Completed
Topic:
Nutrition / Diet;Physical Activity;School-based
Funding Source:
Independence School District, with funding from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City
Funding Period:
2006-2009
Study Design:
Structured, Multi-phase Initiative to Implement, Evaluate, and Disseminate School-Based Nutrition and Physical Activity Interventions
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
Further Study Details:
The PRC and the Independence School District in Missouri partnered to evaluate 2 programs. Nutrition Detectives provides “5 clues” to make healthful food choices, and ABC for Fitness offers 30 minutes of daily classroom-based physical activity. Phase 1 was a pilot study in 3 schools to identify the best intervention (Nutrition Detectives, ABC for Fitness, or both), and refine the programs and data collection. The combination of both programs was identified as the best intervention. Phase 2 evaluated both programs by comparing “pre” and “post” data (nutrition label literacy, body mass index (BMI), physical fitness, classroom behavior, and medication use) from 3 intervention and 2 control schools. In 2009-2012, we conducted a subsequent study – Advancing School & Community Engagement Now for Disease Prevention (ASCEND) –that compared a standard vs. enhanced intervention among elementary schools within this district, with another district serving as a control.
Findings:
Phase 2 was completed in 2009. For Nutrition Detectives™, we found statistically significant improvements in scores on a standardized food label literacy quiz among intervention school students and their parents, compared to scores among control school students and parents. For ABC for Fitness™, we found no change in BMI over the course of the school year. However, intervention school students had statistically significant improvements in certain fitness measures (abdominal and upper body strength). Although we found no improvements in classroom behavior, we found a statistically significant reductions in the numbers of intervention school students receiving medication for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or asthma. For the subsequent study results, please refer to “Advancing School & Community Engagement Now for Disease Prevention (ASCEND).”
Eligibility:
Second, third, and fourth grade students in the Independence School District in Missouri
Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center