Assessing the effectiveness of a “wheel of food” game on the nutrition knowledge of 4th and 5th graders.

Abstract

Middle childhood is a period of growing independence in food selection. Application of healthy eating guidelines may not stand up to appealing foods advertized on television. Nutrition concerns in this age group include obesity, body image, and accurate nutrition knowledge for preventative health care. An educational game entitled “Wheel of Food” was developed to use at a local medical center health fair for fourth and fifth grade students. The game was similar to the well known “Wheel of Fortune” game except nutrition related clues were provided to help the children spell the food related words. Nutrition hand-outs were also distributed at the health fair. Two weeks prior to playing the game, a 10 question pre-test covering material presented in the game was sent to teachers of the 4th/5th graders and administered. The same test questions were administered to the classes of children the week following the health fair. The questions were piloted tested on pediatric health care providers at the Medical Center for clarity. Overall, 193 students participated in the study. We found the children's active participation in the “Wheel of Food” signaled real interest and learning. There was a significant improvement in post-test scores following the “Wheel of Food” game (p<0.01). Results suggest that nutrition games may be an effective means of education for this age group.