Pyramid Plus: Real-Life Nutrition for Teens

Abstract

Objective: Motivate teens to think about their food and lifestyle choices, compare current behaviors with nutrition and exercise standards, and then create a personal nutrition action plan they put into action. Use of Theory orResearch:Health BeliefModel, Theory of Reasoned Action/Planned Behavior, and social cognitive theory. Researched guidelines: MyPyramid, 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and Nutrient-Rich concept. Target Audience: Teens, in health, physical education, and consumer and family studies. Description: Nine interactive lessons plus ‘‘going farther’’ extensions with activities, handouts, masters, colorful visuals, and assessments appeal to both teachers and students. Teen-chosen topics—body acceptance, how much should I eat, quick meals, and snacks—appear throughout lessons. Curriculum follows a ‘‘wish list’’ from educators, making it easy to use with various teaching preferences, learning styles, available resources, and diverse students. Evaluation: Feedback forms, personal communication, teacher referrals, and resupply of handouts indicate positive use. To determine actual outcomes, a formal evaluation is needed. Conclusions and Implications: This is the latest revision of a curriculum first developed in 1986. With this latest revision, much had changed: nutrition standards, national and regional education standards, teacher expectations, student interests, learning styles, and teaching methods, as well as the availability of all kinds of information. Our development team included a school health consultant, with curriculum expertise and connections to educators. We included continual formative evaluations from teachers and teens in focus groups, interviews, and pilot tests. Although currently used withmany high school teens, middle school students, and young adults and by teachers, SNAP-ed programs, and others, a formal evaluation is planned for fall 2010. This project is funded by the Oregon Dairy Council.