Marshall NEP: Effectiveness of Interns in Changing the Dietary Behaviors during K-12 Formative Years

One of the most common chronic childhood diseases is obesity affecting more than 17 percent of US children. Most alarming is obesity among children 6 to 11 years old, which has almost tripled since 1980. In WV 28% of 6-11 year olds are obese. Little is being done in these formative years to successfully affect change. Current approaches to decreasing childhood obesity in rural Appalachia have failed. The Marshall Nutrition Education Program encourages better nutrition through early education utilizing interns and registered dietitians to deliver a clear message regarding nutrition and health. Changes made during early years are likely to carry over into adulthood and reduce the overwhelming burden to society that obesity related diseases perpetuate. Ten dietetic interns and 2 registered dietitians deliver 9 lessons in nutrition over a 9 week span to children in K-12 WV public schools. Effectiveness is assessed through pre/post testing, teacher focus groups, and teacher observation questionnaires. Each lesson is delivered as a part of the normal class curriculum. Children among schools where curriculum is delivered by interns saw the most change in food related behaviors such as trying new foods, increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables, and food safety. Among the very early school-aged children schools, programs that utilize interns to deliver information regarding dietary changes may be more effective in changing children's behaviors related to food choices and food safety. Additional studies should be conducted to test this theory.