266547 Ironwill Kids PowerUp!: An innovative school-based program aimed at increasing the consumption of nutrient-dense foods

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 5:10 PM - 5:30 PM

Katherine J. Roberts, EdD, MPH, MCHES , Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY
Elizabeth B. Carlin, MD , Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Englewood, NJ
INTRODUCTION: Public health policy statements have called for an increased focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods including increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. In response to this, Ironwill Kids was created to provide functional nutritional information and develop essential health skills necessary to make decisions and build personal and social competence surrounding eating nutrient-dense foods. Through its innovative PowerUp! program, Ironwill Kids uses relatable characters and a storyline to engage students and to get them to critically think about food and the choices they have. The eight lesson program emphasizes plant-based whole foods and examines the media's impact on students' food choices. METHODS: A pretest-posttest design study was conducted in the fall of 2011 with fourth grade students from a New York City public school. There were 48 students who completed a self-report instrument prior to the program as well as nine weeks later, after the completion of the program. RESULTS: At posttest, students were significantly more likely to recognize the difference between natural and processed foods (p<.001), the importance of eating breakfast (p<.01), and the awareness of the media's influence on food choices (p<.001). In addition, they were significantly less likely to consume processed foods such as sports drinks (p<.01). There were no significant differences by gender. DISCUSSION: Implementing an interactive nutrition program that provides nutritional information in a creative way and develops health skills can be effective in improving many of the targeted outcomes related to increasing consumption of nutrient-dense foods. The results support a broader implementation of the program.

Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify at least one strategy to increase functional nutritional knowledge of elementary school students related to the consumption of nutrient-dense foods; 2. Describe an essential health skill necessary to adopt health-enhancing behaviors; and 3. Discuss the components of the school-based elementary nutrition program implemented with students in a New York City school.

Keywords: Food and Nutrition, School-Based Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an Adjunct Associate Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University in the Department of Health and Behavior Studies where I teach health education and related courses
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.