School-Based Nutrition Education Intervention: Effect on Achieving a Healthy Weight Among Overweight Ninth-Grade Students

Objective: To test the feasibility and efficacy of an enhanced curriculum delivered in a ninth-grade health class to promote a healthy weight. Design: A quasi-experimental design utilizing pre- and postmeasurements of height, weight, and self-reported eating behaviors was employed to evaluate the impact. Setting: Participants were enrolled in 2 rural high schools in eastern North Carolina. Participants: Participants were ninth-grade students enrolled in a required health class. Participants in intervention group (n = 214) and control group (n = 185) were aged 13 to 19 years with an overweight prevalence of 41% and 39% at baseline, respectively. Intervention: Students in the intervention group received 6 hours of nutrition education based on social cognitive theory, which was integrated within the existing health course. Main Outcome Measures: Changes in body mass index and fruit and vegetable intake were the dependent variables. Independent sample t-test and chi(2) were used to assess within and between group changes. Results: Mean body mass index decrease (0.11 kg/m(2)) was greater in the intervention school than in the control group (0.04 kg/m2, P = 0.34). The proportion of students with an increase of 1 serving of fruit or vegetable was greater in the intervention and approached significance for both vegetable and fruit intake ( P = 0.09 and P = 0.08, respectively). Conclusions: Hands-on nutrition education for all students in a required health class may be an effective strategy for reaching overweight teens with behaviors associated with healthy weights. Further study is needed to determine whether results can be replicated and sustained.