Project Director

Barry, Kathy

Department Examiner

Taylor, Caryl; Powell, Melissa; Martin, Holly

Department

Dept. of Health and Human Performance

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

This paper focuses on nutrition education research conducted between February and April 2014. The researcher’s goal was to determine the effectiveness of a nutrition education intervention on low-income children. The USDA and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics provided most of the research used to create the intervention. The definition of “healthy” used for this study was defined by the USDA (2014) as “whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat free or low-fat dairy, and lean meats that are perishable (fresh, refrigerated, or frozen) or canned as well as nutrient-dense foods and beverages encouraged by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.” Initially, the researcher established a partnership with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank and Inner City Ministry. The nutrition education intervention occurred at Inner City Ministry’s afterschool program. Inner City Ministry’s director randomly selected seven participants from their fifth grade class. These participants consisted of six girls and one boy. Their height, weight, and physical activity levels varied. The intervention consisted of six classes during the three-month period. Each class lasted forty-five minutes and was comprised of a lecture, an activity, and a healthy snack. The activities included games and hands-on learning activities. The parents were encouraged to participate in the program through handouts and one class. Pre and post surveys were used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. The results, which are furthered analyzed in this paper, show that the intervention was successful. Future researchers are encouraged to use similar methods to test the effectiveness of their nutrition education programs.

IRB Number

13-182

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

12-2014

Subject

Children -- Nutrition; Obesity in children

Keyword

nutrition, education, intervention, inner city, surveys, snacks

Discipline

Nutrition

Document Type

Theses

Extent

47 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/

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Nutrition Commons

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