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Title & Content |
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Helping Students Make Better Food Choices in School
Alicia Moag-Stahlberg, MS, RD
Executive Director
October 26, 2006
(image: photos of kids in upper left and lower right corners; Action for Healthy Kids logo) |
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Overview
- Background
- Project goals
- Methods
- Results
- Summary
(image: photo of girl eating school lunch)
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What Kids Are Not Eating
*Consumption data from NHANES 2001-2002
(image: bar graph titled "What Kids Are Not Eating")
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Translating Guidelines Into Action
- Adequate nutrients within calorie needs
- Weight management
- Physical activity
- Food Groups to Encourage – special nutrients of concern for children
- Calcium
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Vitamin E
- Fiber
(image: cover of Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005)
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Making Better Food Choices
- Pilot projects 2004-2005 school year with dozen Chicago-area schools
- Key Findings - Recommendations
- Involve Students
- Tastings and Promotions Get Attention
- Information is Powerful
- Support and Collaboration are Necessary
- Packaging Counts
- Price Advantage for Healthy Options
- Be Consistent and Comprehensive
- OK to Imitate
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Project Goals – Phase II
- Test simple promotional strategies to increase awareness and consumption of Food Groups to Encourage
- Low Fat Dairy, Fruit/Vegetables, Whole Grains
- Develop practical student/school evaluation methods
- Based on findings, develop model approach for schools to utilize as a component of Wellness Policy implementation
- Increase selection of key food groups
- Increase student choice and consumption
- Increase exposure to nutrition information; provide supplement to classroom nutrition education
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Participating Schools - Students
- Evanston High School (urban)
- 3200 students
- 48% Caucasian, 39% African American, 9% Hispanic, 2% Pacific Islander/Asian
- 32% enrolled free/reduced school meal
- Quincy High School (rural)
- 1726 students
- 89% Caucasian, 9% African American, 1% Hispanic, 1% Pacific Islander/Asian
- 28% enrolled free/reduced school meal
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Participating Schools - Students
- Baldwin Intermediate School (rural, Quincy)
- 1468 students
- 88% Caucasian, 10% African American, 1% Hispanic, 1% Pacific Islander/Asian
- 55% enrolled free/reduced school meal
- Thomas & South Middle School (suburban, Arlington Heights)
- 1700 students total in both schools
- 90% Caucasian, 4% African American, 2% Hispanic, 5% Pacific Islander/Asian
- 7% enrolled free/reduced school meal
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Promotion Design
- Nutrition promotion timing for each food group was one month long
- Design criteria included: cost effective, not-duplicative, complement school context, easy to administer
- Utilize Ag in Classroom materials and other USDA materials
- Target audiences for materials included food service professionals, students, teachers, and parents
- Utilize variety of communication vehicles and locations throughout school:
- Morning announcement
- Homeroom
- Parent newsletter/menu
- Posters in bathrooms, cafeteria, nurse office, halls
- Cafeteria
- Promotions included
- Taste tests
- Balloons, music, signage
- Point of choice nutrient information
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Assessment
- What aspects of the promotion did students notice, like the most?
- Did student's make better food choices during the promotion?
- Are student's likely to continue choosing food groups highlighted?
- Did student's report a willingness to select the food group outside of school?
- Did food service professionals note differences in product utilization/selection?
- Would food service be willing to conduct promotions in the future?
(image: photo of girl jumping off chair)
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Focus Group Findings
- Formative information and immediate learnings
- After each promotion one group completed
- 15 focus groups total; 214 students total
- 83% of students were aware of promotions
- Promotional items noticed/liked most included
- Taste testing most memorable/liked
- Balloons, music
- Posters
- Majority of :
- Students understood the purpose of promotion
- Middle school students reported trying food groups/products being highlighted
- Students that did try new product/food, they did like it
- More of the school students reported NOT trying food group or product being highlighted
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Quantitative Survey Findings
- Total of 353 students completed survey
- 57% female and 43% male
- 62% middle school and 38% high school
- 93% of students were aware of promotions throughout the school year; 41% remembered all promotions similarly, 36% remembered fruit/vegetable (completed previous month) and 15% remembered dairy the most (done at start of school year)
- Promotional items most memorable/effective
- Taste tests 83%
- Posters 68%
- Balloons 45%
- Hand outs/announcements 28%
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Learned Why Important For Me
(image: bar graph illustrating students responses to whether they learned why dairy, grains, and vegetables are important)
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I Eat More In Cafeteria
Since promotion, I eat more _____ product in cafeteria
(image: bar graph titled "I Eat More In Cafeteria")
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I Eat More At Home, Other Places
Since promotion, I eat more at home and in other places
(image: bar graph titled "I Eat More At Home, Other Places")
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In Future, Will Eat More
In the future, I plan to eat more
(image: bar graph titled "In Future, Will Eat More")
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Knowledge of Servings Needed
- 63% correctly named number of servings from Dairy food group needed each day
- 40% correctly named the number of servings from Grain food group needed each day
- Less than 30% could correctly name the number of servings needed from Fruit or Vegetable food groups
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Summary
- Promoting nutrition and healthful food items is very necessary – hard to compete with current practices
- Does not replace need for nutrition and health education – supplements classroom learning to drive at point of choice nutritious decisions
- Students from 5th to 12th grade did respond to simple promotions
- More intensive, longer lasting promotions would have greater effect
- Need participation from many stakeholders for successful and lasting practices
- Although not complicated, this approach takes time and resources to implement so collaborative approach is necessary
(image: photo of convenience store snacks)
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"Best Practices" School-based Approaches
- Cost-effective — resources available
- Complement larger school context — fit within school schedule, align with a coordinated school health model
- Be lasting — not just a one-time event without additional programs, want impact to be lasting
- Supported by critical audiences — students, administrators, school food service, teachers, families/parents, and community leaders
- On-going "body" charged with keeping the light on the issue -- School Health/Wellness Advisory Council
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Action for Healthy Kids' Resources
(image: photos of other Healthy Kids' resources)
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