Choose Health: Food, Fun, and Fitness Youth Curriculum Promotes Positive Behaviors

Wolfe, W. S., Scott-Pierce, M., & Dollahite, J. (2018). Choose Health: Food, Fun, and Fitness Youth Curriculum Promotes Positive Behaviors. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 50(9), 924–930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2017.09.008

Objective: Evaluate whether participation in Choose Health: Food, Fun, and Fitness (CHFFF), a hands-on, experiential curriculum aimed at third- to sixth-graders, resulted in improvements in the targeted obesity and chronic disease prevention behaviors. Methods: The researchers evaluated CHFFF in low-income youth participating in 2 federal programs in New York State during 2013–2015. Food and activity behaviors were assessed using the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program third- through fifth- and sixth- through eighth-grade pre-post surveys, along with 2 sets of added CHFFF-specific items completed by subsamples. Educators trained in CHFFF had youth complete the surveys as they delivered the curriculum, primarily in schools and after-school programs. Results: Paired t tests showed significant (P