Adolescence is a time of increased control over food choices and dietary practices. Participating in high school sports or attending college presents unique nutritional concerns and health risks. Some female high school athletes have low energy availability (consuming inadequate calories to compensate for exercise energy expenditure), which can result in menstrual dysfunction, bone loss, and injury, also known as the female athlete triad (Triad). College students who consume diets low in fruits and vegetables and high in fast food are at increased risk for weight gain, chronic disease, and some cancers. Nutrition education interventions that were tailored to the participants' unique nutritional concerns yielded positive results such as increased Triad knowledge among female high school athletes and increased self-efficacy and readiness to change dietary behaviors among college students. Peer-led education was preferred by college students, but not by high school students.

Three schools were matched for socioeconomic data, location, and quality. Students in kindergarten through grade three in two schools received nutrition education; the third school was the control. Of the two treatment schools, one was randomly assigned to receive parent as well as student education in nutrition. Three-hundred and seventy cognitive scores, 168 affective scores, and 100 plate-waste analyses were collected in both pretest and posttest phases. At the end of the fourmonth treatment period, 24-hour food frequency recalls were collected for 151 children. Students at the school where both parents and their children were involved had higher dietary quality scores and were eating a wider variety of food compared to students in either of the other two schools. Cognitive scores for kindergarten and first grade students were significantly higher for children in the school with parent involvement. The results substantiate the importance of a parent education component in achieving a positive effect in food behavior as a result of a nutrition education program.

Obesity and eating disorders are major public health problems in the U.S. Prevention of these problems in childhood and adolescence is crucial to avoid medical complications and costs associated with these conditions. A growing body of research supports designing and implementing interventions to prevent obesity and eating disorders simultaneously by targeting common risk factors such as poor body image. This study explored the use of a body image education unit as a preventive measure for obesity and eating disorders. Ninth-grade students attending health class in a public school in Northern Utah (n = 117) were assigned to either an intervention or control group. At the end of a 3-week nutrition unit, the intervention group received a 3-day intervention designed to promote body image. Participants were surveyed at baseline, immediately following the nutrition unit and intervention, and at a 2-month follow-up. At post-test and follow-up, participants in the intervention group and the control group both self-reported improved body image and dietary practices. Modest improvements were seen in both the intervention and control groups. The intervention group did not have any advantage over the control group. It is recommended that future interventions be of greater intensity and longer duration in order to assess use of body image education to improve body image and dietary constructs. Interventions will have the greatest effect sizes if they target high risk individuals. Universal interventions targeting entire schools and communities are also recommended to help change environmental risk factors and reduce risk in those who may be at high risk but would not be included in a high risk grouping for a targeted intervention.

A nutrition education component was developed, implemented, and evaluated for integration into the Title I migrant education program. The component was based on an evaluated nutrition education curriculum implemented by Brown in the elementary school. The nutrition education program was developed on the concept of nutrient density which measures the ratio of a food's nutrient contribution to its caloric contribution on a constant caloric basis. The nutrition component was modified to include behavioral objectives and concepts that partially met the needs of a migrant population in Utah. The program was evaluated in the Title I programs in Corrine and Smithfield, Utah. The latter site served as a control group. A total of 88 students participated. Pre-post tests as well as individual unit tests served as evaluation instruments. The health status of the migrant children also was evaluated. Students and teachers indicated a positive change in knowledge and attitudes resulting from the nutrition education component.

Each year, teen pregnancy occurs in 750,000 15-to-19 year-old women in the United States (U.S.). Utah has the youngest population and the lowest teen abortion rates in the U.S. Approximately 73% of teen pregnancies in Utah result in live births. The prevalence of teen pregnancy and the nutritional risk to mother and child result in a much greater need for social support, such as nutrition education. Current literature shows that the paraprofessional model is effective in increasing positive behavior change through nutrition education. Presently, there is a lack of evidence that paraprofessional teens are capable of accurately and effectively teaching their peers nutrition information. This pilot study aims to measure the effectiveness of the peer-teaching-peer paraprofessional model in teen parenting nutrition education, and to demonstrate that peer educators ages 18-22 are capable of teaching their peers accurate nutrition information as effectively as adult paraprofessionals. In this pilot study, two females were trained to become paraprofessional peer educators. To supplement the training of peer educators, this pilot study developed and recorded a nutrition presentation for all six lessons of the paper version Missouri Extension Teen Parenting curriculum. Each trained peer educator taught 10 to 13 clients (ages 14 to 19) over three weeks. For evaluation, the study used pre/post comparisons. Assessment tools include teaching evaluations, pre-post test on nutrition knowledge, 24-hour dietary and physical activity recalls, and behavioral checklist. There was a significant difference in pre-post tests in knowledge, behavior, and exit survey among participants, indicating that peer educators are able to teach their peers effectively. Although not significant, peer educators' teaching accuracy score was high and improved consistently. Eighty-three of participants like or very much liked to be taught by their peers. Findings from this study showed great potential in having adolescents teach their peers as effectively as older educators.

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