P119: Being Healthy the Write Way: The Development of a Theater-Based Nutrition and Physical Activity Intervention for At-Risk African-American Adolescents

Abstract

Rising rates of childhood overweight, especially among African-American and Hispanic youth is a major public health concern in the United States. Teaching youth about the importance of good nutritional and physical activity habits, is particularly important because overweight children are more likely to become obese adults. One way of successfully communicating nutrition messages is via theater. The use of theater for nutrition education presents a unique opportunity to reach at-risk adolescents and their parents. The goal of this project is to develop a theater-based nutrition education intervention that effectively conveys messages about healthy eating and physical activity to at-risk African-American adolescents. The study sample included at-risk adolescents (N = 20) attending Camp Summer Spree Horizons, Inc., in Athens, Georgia during June 2005 (4 weeks). Participants were administered a pretest before the intervention. Campers were divided into small groups (5 groups of 4) to participate in 40-minute nutrition and physical activity education sessions four days per week. In addition, campers participated in a dramatic writing course and hip-hop dance lessons. The culminating event was a dinner theater presentation of an original “healthy” dramatic reader's theater play, “Getting on Track,” written and performed by campers for parents, family, and friends. Participants were administered a posttest on the last day of summer camp. One hundred percent of the participants reported enjoying the theater-based method of learning about health messages. Conclusively, overall acceptance of this theater-based nutrition education intervention, suggests that theater is a viable medium for nutrition education for at-risk African American adolescents.