Wendy J. Jones, MPH¹, Laura A. Beebe, PhD², and Rebekah R. Rhoades, MPH². (1) Schools for Healthy Lifestyles, 601 N.W. Grand Blv., Suite D, Oklahoma City, OK 73118, (405) 848-7345, wendyjjones@prodigy.net, (2) Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, P.O. Box 26901, Oklahoma City, OK 73190

Objective: Poor eating habits are usually established during childhood. As the link between eating patterns and many chronic diseases is established, the need for nutrition interventions for children and families is critical. Little is known, however, about the dietary habits of school-aged children and the impact of health education programs on these habits.

Methods: The Schools for Healthy Lifestyles (SHL) program is a school-based health education program for elementary school children in a high-risk metropolitan school district. As part of its evaluation, fourth and fifth grade students completed a 25-item questionnaire, which included questions about health attitudes, knowledge and behavior. The questionnaire was pre-tested and revised to ensure age-appropriateness. Data were collected for three consecutive years.

Results: In 2002, 952 students completed the questionnaire. Thirty-seven percent of students reported eating fruits on five or more of the previous seven days. Only 26% reported eating vegetables and 60% consumed dairy foods on five or more days during the last week. Nearly 9% responded that they did not eat any fruits during the past week, and 16% did not eat vegetables. Fourteen percent of students correctly identified a food source high in protein, and 12% correctly read a label to identify ingredients and calories. Differences were observed between SHL and comparison schools, and over time.

Conclusions: Students in this study reported low levels of fruit and vegetable consumption. Gaps in nutrition-related knowledge were also observed. These findings support the need for enhanced nutritional intervention for school-aged children.

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