Nutrition education in junior high schools: incorporating behavior change strategies into home economics courses

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Abstract
A study designed to assess the effectiveness of a seventh grade social norms and skills-based educational program was developed and implemented in collaboration with home economics teachers at four junior high schools in Bergen, Norway. Healthly eating behavior and healthy eating knowledge were assessed prior to, and 5 and 12 months after the initiation of the nutrition program. Surveys including a short food-frequency questionnaire and questions regarding knowledge of healthy eating were administered to participating seventh grade students. A total of 447 students (92.0%) participated at both baseline and first follow-up survey, while 415 (85.4%) participated at baseline and second follow-up. The implementation of this program demonstrated that it is feasible to integrate curriculum activities designed to modify students' eating behavior in home economics courses. Furthermore, the results indicated that females receiving the intervention reported healthier eating behaviors both at 5 and 12 months follow-ups. For males, we observed a significant short-term positive effect on eating behavior as well as a maintained positive impact on healthy eating knowledge. It is recommended that future school-based nutrition education research focus on providing models for effective use and incorporation of behavioral change strategies into existing school curricula.

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