Research Article
Positive Impact of a Brief Nutrition Education Intervention on Underserved Adolescents: A Pilot Study
Meyers MJ, Mount MK, and Ammerman S*Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine, Stanford University, 770 Welch Road, Suite 434, California, USA
- *Corresponding Author:
- Seth Ammerman
Department of Pediatrics
Division of Adolescent Medicine
Stanford University, 770 Welch Road
Suite 434, California, USA
Tel: 1-650-736-9557
E-mail: seth.ammerman@stanford.edu
Received Date: August 27, 2014; Accepted Date: September 15, 2014; Published Date: September 18, 2014
Citation: Meyers MJ, Mount MK, and Ammerman S* (2014) Positive Impact of a Brief Nutrition Education Intervention on Underserved Adolescents: A Pilot Study. J Child Adolesc Behav 2:161. doi:10.4172/2375-4494.1000161
Copyright: © Ammerman S. et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Objective: A pilot study to assess the impact of a small-group, behavior-based brief education intervention, on the nutrition and food buying habits of low income, at-risk adolescents' dietary and food purchasing habits. Methods: Low-income at-risk adolescents (N=19) were recruited from three "mobile clinic" affiliated partner sites. Individual pre- and post- intervention dietary intake and food purchasing data were collected via 24-hour recall and shopping purchase logs respectively. The intervention focused on discussing food choices, nutrition principles, identifying food healthfulness, and creating alternative snack lists. Results: Dietary recall data showed an increase in protein consumption (p=0.01); slight increase in dairy, fruit and grain; and decrease in vegetable consumption. Shopping trip data showed decreases in calories, protein, sugar, fat, and sodium, and increases in fiber. Conclusions and Implications: This small-group, brief intervention highlights a positive impact of nutrition education on the dietary and food buying habits of a cohort of lowincome, at-risk adolescents, and demonstrates the utility and potential efficacy of similar interventions in improving the nutritional health of underserved adolescents.
