P58 Development of a Two-Day Health at Every Size® College Curriculum Module

Abstract

Objective To develop and evaluate a Health At Every Size (HAES) curriculum module for college students to replace a traditional weight management module in a personal health course. Use of Theory or Research HAES principles provide an alternative to weight-centric approaches, may provide for a more inclusive classroom, and may reduce anti-fat attitudes among instructors and students. Target Audience Instructors of, and students in, a college-level personal health course. Program Description Two 50-minute lessons were developed based on HAES principles to replace a weight management unit. The lessons included information about HAES principles, mindful eating, comparison of dieting and non-dieting approaches to nutrition, and body positive self-talk. Six instructors were trained and implemented the module in 11 sections of a personal health course. Evaluation Methods Two expert panelists reviewed the curriculum's learning objectives, instructor resources, instructional strategies, content, and assessment tools during development. Informal interviewing during instructor training provided data on attitudes prior to implementation. A focus group with instructors was conducted after implementation to collect qualitative data on their experiences using the curriculum. Results Suggestions from reviewers, such as providing discussion questions and rubrics for assessment, were incorporated into the curriculum prior to implementation. During training, instructors reported much of the content and some of the teaching techniques were new to them, but were overall positive towards the curriculum. Following implementation, instructors described overall positive experiences in teaching the curriculum, received positive feedback from students, and reported significantly increased participation in discussion. Conclusions HAES curriculum provides an alternative to weight-centric instruction and can influence attitudes of both instructors and students. Nutrition educators can incorporate HAES instruction, even in small doses, to increase inclusivity, generate discussion, and support body and size acceptance. Funding None.