June 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 50

B E T T E R H E A LT H

Nutrition Literacy Leads
to Healthier Eating
During just a short summer camp
period (averaging approximately six
weeks), Commit to Health nutrition
literacy programming resulted in significant improvements in nutrition
knowledge and healthy eating behaviors for all groups involved - kids,
parents and park and recreation staff!
While the full results of these great
successes will be presented in
October at the 2015 Food and
Nutrition Conference and
Expo of the Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics,
here are some of the key
findings:

questions at the beginning and end of
camp to assess their change in nutrition knowledge and eating behaviors.
The evaluation included quantitative
(pre- and post-surveys) and qualitative (collection of success stories, lessons learned, etc.) activities, and the
results were impressive!

1

Learning specifics
about nutrient-rich
foods and their bodies leads to impressive changes in kids'
eating behaviors. Children learned a lot about
nutritious foods, their bodily organs and how to become
healthier overall thanks to the nutrition literacy program provided by
NRPA. Through fun, engaging, cartoon-based programming called The
OrganWise Guys (which includes
cute characters such as Hardy Heart,
Peter Pancreas and Peristolic the
Large Intestine), the importance of
good nutrition and daily physical activity was understood by Commit to
Health kids. These lessons were complemented by USDA MyPlate activities, Foods of the Month programming
that included focusing on specific
nutrient-rich foods each week during
the summer months, and an emphasis on daily physical activity. In 2014,
as part of a nationwide evaluation by
Healthy Networks Design and Research, more than 400 children in select summer camps who had just finished grades four and five were asked

48	 Parks & Recreation

es from Peter Pancreas and Peristolic!
Kids also were asked at the beginning and end of summer camp about
their consumption of foods that were
part of the Foods of the Month educational efforts. Children reported
eating more fruits and vegetables
generally, as well as bell peppers and
spinach specifically and low-fat dairy
items (skim milk, reduced fat cheese)
by the end of summer. Slight decreases in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages were
reported, which mirror the
reported increases in consumption of water found
in qualitative components of the evaluation.
Finally, although not
nutrition-related, significantly more children reported higher
levels of physical activity at the end of the summer camp.

2

Specifically, very large increases in
the number of correct responses from
children regarding nutrition knowledge were found for topics such as;
" Pretend you are getting ready to
choose which cereal you would like
to have for breakfast. Which of the
following would be the best choice? "
(options included varying levels of fat
and fiber), " Which food is a protein? "
(egg, whole wheat bread or broccoli), and " Which organ of the body
helps regulate sugar in our bodies? "
Children also reported learning more
about the types of protein and dairy
items that are low in fat, as well as the
role of their intestines and pancreas in
healthy living - likely due to messag-

| J U N E 2 0 1 5 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

Parents learn about
healthy eating and their
organs, and change their behaviors. Parents of summer campers
were asked a number of questions at
the beginning and the end of summer, just like their children. We really
wanted to know if the things children
learned at summer camp had an impact on parents' eating habits, foods
consumed in the home and home
gardening. What we found was exciting - parents did learn about, and
then make changes to improve, eating habits due to their children having been campers in locations where
nutrition literacy programming was
implemented. Significantly more
parents reported having heard about
the educational programs called The
OrganWise Guys, and/or the USDA
MyPlate program, at the end of summer as compared to the beginning.
Nutrition lessons from these pro-
June 2015 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2015 - Parks & Recreation
