NUTRITION EDUCATION IN JUNIOR-HIGH-SCHOOLS - INCORPORATING BEHAVIOR-CHANGE STRATEGIES INTO HOME ECONOMICS COURSES

A study designed to assess the effectiveness of a seventh grade social norms and skills-based educational program was developed and implemen ted 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 initi ation of the nutrition program. Surveys including a short food-frequen cy questionnaire and questions regarding knowledge of healthy eating w ere administered to participating seventh grade students. A total of 4 47 students (92.0%) participated at both baseline and first follow-up survey, while 415 (85.4%) participated at baseline and second follow-u p. The implementation of this program demonstrated that it is feasible to integrate curriculum activities designed to modify students' eatin g behavior in home economics courses. Furthermore, the results indicat ed that females receiving the intervention reported healthier eating b ehaviors 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 recomme nded that future school-based nutrition education research focus on pr oviding models for effective use and incorporation of behavioral chang e strategies into existing school curricula.