P160 - College Students Find Social Media Effective in Promoting USDA's MyPlate Guidelines

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of using Instagram to promote MyPlate guidelines. Theory, Prior Research, Rationale: Social Cognitive Theory asserts that individuals learn by observation. Nutrition majors can model healthy eating by posting pictures of their nutritious meals on Instagram and pointing their peers to the USDA's MyPlate website. Target Audience: University students and nutrition majors. Description: Coached by faculty, senior nutrition majors in a one-credit MyPlate Ambassador class collaborated using an Instagram account to encourage healthy eating on campus. Prior to beginning, they set guidelines for posts and agreed each picture would depict their plates featuring at least three food groups. Captions described the foods, health benefits, recipes and links to www.ChooseMyPlate.gov. Students promoted the site through Facebook and posted on Instagram 3–4 times/week. After six weeks, the 475 followers were sent an IRB approved survey. Evaluation: Survey data were collected only from students at the university. Of the 72 respondents, almost all (n = 70) were female and most (n = 67) followed other nutrition related accounts. Most (n = 56) had heard of MyPlate prior to joining the account. Almost half (n = 32) reported using the nutrition tips somewhat frequently. Favorite features of the account were food pictures, healthy eating tips and recipes. Suggestions for improvement included more recipes and videos. All (n = 8) nutrition majors completed an IRB approved survey to assess their experience. Most (n = 7) felt their skills in providing nutrition education and leadership improved while many (n = 6) stated creative abilities increased. All indicated the project should continue and write-in responses showed students believe Instagram is a valuable way to show a healthy meal to peers. Conclusions and Implications: Nutrition majors and non-majors benefitted from this project. Future programs could investigate whether Instagram is an effective educational tool for males and can further assess ways to promote healthy eating for females via pictures posted by peers. Funding: None.