“On A Nutrition Mission”: A Nutrition Musical for Children

Abstract

Ninety-five percent of the young clients who are referred to the community dietitian at this regional medical center exceed the 100th percentile weight-for-height. Obesity and other poor nutritional habits contribute to the six leading causes of death and disability in our state as reported by our state dietetic association. Early prevention strategies will not only save our state and our nation millions of dollars in health care costs but more importantly will improve quality of life for generations to come. With this in mind, a 40-minute live nutrition musical entitled “On a Nutrition Mission” (OANM) was created for children ages six to twelve. The idea for this unique project was developed by the community dietitian who wanted to increase nutrition awareness in school-aged children. The musical was written by a local, well-respected professor/playwright who collaborated with the community dietitian. The USDA's Food Guide Pyramid and the US Dietary Guidelines were used as the basis for the content. Entertainment was chosen as the educational medium because it is an effective teaching tool as evidenced by the popularity of shows such as “Barney and Friends” and “Sesame Street” and supported by Dr. Howard Gardener's “Project Zero” (Cogitare vol. IV, number 1, Fall 1989). OANM is entertaining, appeals to many types of learners and helps supplement textbook learning. OANM is taken to each elementary school and performed in the school's gymnasium. A professionally recorded background soundtrack is provided during the songs with actors providing the vocals. The audience is asked to participate at several points during the show to help reinforce the information provided. By the end of the show, the elementary school students have been led through basic nutrition information in an entertaining and informative way. Approximately 12,000 elementary school children will be reached when all 20 elementary schools have been visited with the live performance. To date, 2,000 children have viewed OANM. Five hundred of these students have been given both a pre- and post-test to evaluate the musical's effect on nutrition knowledge. There was a significant improvement in knowledge between the pre- and post-test (p<0.001).