Background: In health education, there is a risk of giving overly prescriptive recommendations, potentially activating conflicting in-group norms that reduce message receptiveness. For example, the notion of 'unhealthy youth' is a stereotype which suggests that young people are expected to make unhealthy choices. If such in-group norms are…

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a nutrition education programme conducted during health education lessons on students' adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) and their body mass index (BMI). Design: Quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test research design: two study conditions (intervention and control groups). Setting: Two urban schools, the…

Background: Children's participation in cooking activities at home may have positive effects on diet quality. In Japan, schools are the primary site for food education, which includes cooking. Very few studies have assessed the impact of school-based cooking programmes on children's participation in cooking activities at home. Objective: The…

Background: Highly processed foods are inexpensive and abundant in our food supply, nutritionally poor, and disproportionately marketed to minority youth. This study is part of a curriculum development project to develop, implement, and evaluate the "In Defense of Food" (IDOF) curriculum designed to increase intake of whole/minimally…

Objective: To increase nutrition knowledge, fruit and vegetable preference, eating and cooking self-efficacy among 3rd- to 5th-grade students after a 6-week school-based nutrition education intervention. Design: Quasi-experimental pre-post design. Setting: Title I elementary schools, South Plains, West Texas. Method: A nutrition education…

Objective: Existing research shows that sociodemographic factors are associated with dietary patterns among adolescents; however, little is known about when these relationships begin in children. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between dietary self-efficacy (SE) and dietary intake among children over time and by…

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a school-based nutrition program using a cafeteria environment intervention and classroom nutrition education on self-reported fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, self-efficacy to select FV, and preference for healthy foods. Methods: Using quasi-experimental pre-post design with 3…

Background: Teacher self-efficacy for teaching nutrition can positively impact student dietary behaviors; however, limited curricular resources and professional development can serve as barriers to the provision of nutrition education in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a food-based, integrative science…

Objectives: We explored the effect of a culturally targeted calorie label intervention on food purchasing behavior of elementary school students. Method: We used a quasi-experimental design with two intervention schools and one control school to assess food purchases of third through fifth graders at standardized school food sales before and after…

Background: Identifying lifestyle factors such as physical activity (PA) patterns and eating behaviors of children may be beneficial in implementing interventions in urban elementary schools. Purpose: To examine PA levels and self-efficacy (SE) in PA and health eating (HE) of third, fourth, and fifth graders in 3 low economic elementary schools in…

Jump Into Action (JIA) is a school-based team-taught program to help fifth-grade students make healthy food choices and be more active. The JIA team (physical education teacher, classroom teacher, school nurse, and parent) work together to provide a supportive environment as students set goals to improve food choices and increase activity.…