College students are among the highest consumers of sweetened beverages, drinking more than 25% of their daily calorie needs from sweetened drinks. They also tend to be low consumers of milk. This is important, as high consumption of sweetened drinks and low consumption of nutrient-dense drinks is associated with obesity, dental caries and bone disease. Point-of-purchase (POP) marketing and nutrition education programs are thought to be effective in changing food selection behaviors of college students. Therefore, we conducted a 2-week intervention that combined POP marketing and nutrition education aiming to 1. decrease sweetened beverage consumption 2. increase milk/milk equivalent consumption and 3. increase knowledge of beverages and health among University of Massachusetts students. To determine effectiveness of the campaign, college students enrolled at UMass Amherst with a meal plan of > six meals/week were recruited via email for survey participation prior to (n=1547) and 14 days after (n=1387) the intervention. We compared self-reported beverage consumption and nutrition knowledge for pre- versus post-intervention and exposed versus unexposed (post-intervention) survey respondents with Chi-square tests. Using both approaches to assess campaign effectiveness, we found that exposed participants were less likely to drink regular soda at least once per week (p =0.001, p = 0.044), more likely to identify fruit juice is not a source of calcium/vitamin D (p<0.001, p = 0.011) and more likely to identify that there is a link between artificial sweeteners and hunger (p<0.001, p<0.001). We found that POP marketing was effective in decreasing soda consumption and increasing nutrition knowledge about calcium/vitamin D and artificial sweeteners in our study. These results suggest that similar POP marketing campaigns may be useful in college settings to improve beverage choices and knowledge. Successful campaigns that impact long-term behavior may also improve long-term health outcomes for college students by decreasing sweetened beverage intake.

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The purpose of this study was to determine if cardiac nutrition education can affect dietary patterns of subjects participating in Cardiac Rehabilitation. Surveys, a pretest given prior to the first cardiac class and a second identical test, administered following cardiac rehabilitation classes, were conducted. Fifty-five randomly selected participants from the outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation Program were initially given the posttest. Thirty-three of the 55 surveys were returned. Cardiac health classes offered by various health professionals included cardiac nutrition education, group nutrition classes, guest lectures on nutrition, and cooking demonstrations. The tests were compared to measure changes in diet and were analyzed for both surveys. Paired t-tests were used for analysis along with frequency, percentage and group statistics. The majority of the respondents demonstrated a statistically significant healthy increase in dietary changes after having participated in the classes.

Teachers and food service employees at a middle school in Washington County, Tennessee were surveyed to determine their perceptions of a recently implemented nutrition program in their school. The nutrition program was designed to address childhood obesity concerns via cafeteria food selections. All teachers and food service employees were eligible to receive surveys. Participants included 19 teachers (5 males, 14 females) and 5 food service employees (1 male, 4 females) employed by Washington County Department of Education and working at Boones Creek Middle School. Survey questions were based on a 5-point Likert scale. Data were insufficient to complete statistical analysis; however, findings indicated that teachers and food service employees felt the nutrition program was less than effective in making changes to the obesity problems in their school.

Pink and Dude Chefs: A nutrition and culinary intervention for middle school students Tianna Sheehan The prevalence of obesity in US adolescents has more than tripled in the past 35 years, and the greatest impact has been among low-income and minority racial/ethnic populations. Adolescents report inadequate fruit and vegetable intake, an overconsumption of sweetened beverages, and a high reliance on fast food locations for meals or snacks; increasing the risk of adolescent obesity. Building knowledge and skills through culinary interventions may empower middle school students to create and also choose healthful foods. Pink and Dude Chefs, a six-week nutrition and culinary intervention, aims to improve healthy eating behaviors by increasing nutrition knowledge and culinary ability. Trained research assistants from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) led middle school boys and girls in lessons ranging on topics including macronutrients, real-world application of USDA MyPlate guidelines, and meal planning and budgeting. Cal Poly research assistants supported middle school participants in cooking recipes that were specifically chosen to highlight themes covered in the nutrition lesson and to progress in difficulty throughout the program. The program consisted of 12 lessons that were each divided into 1 hour of classroom nutrition instruction and 1 hour of hands-on cooking practicum. The program took place in two locations, at Mesa Middle School in Arroyo Grande, California and Carpinteria Middle School in Carpinteria, California with 15-20 middle school volunteer participants who enrolled in each program. Questionnaires were used to measure fruit and vegetable preferences, dietary behavior, and barriers to healthy eating, culinary skill, culinary confidence, and basic nutrition knowledge pre- and post-intervention. Participants’ responses indicated an improved dietary profile as indicated by fruit and vegetable preferences, and fruit and vegetable intake. Responses also indicated increased culinary confidence and improved nutrition knowledge. More research is needed to test the long-term impact of participation in nutrition and culinary interventions.

The epidemic of adolescent obesity has become one of the greatest public health concerns in the United States. Approximately 20.5% of adolescents of both sexes aged 12-19 years are considered obese. Higher rates of obesity are evident in ethnic minority and lower income status children with the highest prevalence among Hispanic/Latino and Black populations. The causes for obesity are multifactorial in nature and highlight disparities nationwide. These factors include socioeconomic status, education, environment, availability and access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and behavior patterns. Successful intervention methods that have reduced the impact of adolescent obesity have incorporated nutrition knowledge and culinary skill building into afterschool programs. Pink and Dude Chefs, a 12-lesson nutrition education and culinary skills afterschool program targeted toward middle school students, aims to improve nutrition knowledge and dietary behavior in low income and minority populations. Based off of evidence-based curriculum, the program focuses on culinary fundamentals while incorporating nutrition lessons about macronutrients, micronutrients, label reading, kitchen safety, and USDA guidelines. Research assistants from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, were trained to implement each lesson. The program took place at Mesa Middle School in Arroyo Grande, CA; Shandon, CA; and two sites in Nashville, TN from Spring 2014 to Fall 2014. Thirty-two middle school students participated in the study aged 11-14 years. Questionnaires were used to measure fruit and vegetables preferences, nutrition knowledge, and fruit and vegetable intake. Results indicate that participants’ fruit and vegetable preferences, nutrition knowledge and fruit and vegetable intake all increased. However, statistical significance was only achieved with nutrition knowledge, likely due to small sample size. If programs such as Pink and Dude Chefs show promise for decreasing risk for obesity, the public health impact could improve long-term health outcomes for adolescents and mitigate obesity related consequences.

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