2006, Volume 12 No. 1

ARTICLE 5

Nutrition Education and Food Choices Among African American Teenagers at a Southern Parochial High School in Alabama, United States - A Case Study

Marta Sovyanhadi & Malcolm A. Cor
Family and Consumer Sciences Department, Oakwood College, 7000 Adventist Blvd, NW, Huntsville, Alabama 35896, United States

ABSTRACT
The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a three-week nutrition education intervention on high school students' choices of food. The study design was based on paired comparisons of the servings of food in an ideal meal plan with a 24-hour recall, students' meal plan, and an observed meal. The subjects comprised a sample of (n=19) tenth grade students enrolled at a historically black, parochial, high school. Paired t tests were used to compare the differences for all measurements presented in the analyses. Analysis shows that the students ate on a daily basis significantly more fats and sweets than was ideal for good health (p=0.05). Also, after one week of nutrition instruction students constructed meal plans which were lower than ideal in two nutrition areas, vegetables (p>0.01), and dairy products (p>0.001). After three weeks of nutrition education, they consumed significantly larger amounts of fats and sweets (p>0.01), and significantly smaller amounts of fruit (p>0.01), vegetables (p>0.01), and dairy products (p>0.001), than was ideal for their health. After the intensive nutrition education programme, students still chose foods that were high in fats and sweets, and low in vegetables, fruits, and dairy products, showing that it would take more than just formally educating youths, to prevent chronic diseases in the later stages of life. Targeting families, in an effort to encourage parents to begin modeling good nutrition early in their children's lives, is essential for forming lifestyle patterns, which promote good health into adulthood.

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