The Role of Nutrition Education in the Implementation of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the provision of nutrition education in schools and the degree of implementation of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program (PYFP). Secondarily, the influence of free and reduced priced lunch was considered. METHODS: Year two implementation data extracted from schools’ PYFPfunding application and PYFP Index of 284 schools were used for analysis. PYFP implementation was operationalized as a categorical variable (non-implementer, partial implementer, full implementer) based on: 1) mean knowledge score from teachers’ virtual professional development, 2) a summed score of organizational supports at the school, 3) administration of the FitnessGram®, and 3) distribution of PYFP student awards. Teachers within each school answered two questions regarding whether the school provided nutrition education to students (range of 0=not in place to 3=fully in place). A multinomial logistic regression model in SPSS was fit to determine the association between the provision of nutrition education and PYFP implementation, controlling for school enrollment and proportion of students receiving free or reduced priced lunch. RESULTS: The multinomial regression model had a good fit to the data [χ2 (6, n = 284) = 121.36, P < 0.001]. The provision of nutrition education was significantly associated with the level of PYFP implementation. The relative probability of being considered a partial implementer school compared with a non-implementer school was three times higher for every one-unit increase in the provision of nutrition education [Exp(B)=3.187, SE=0.228, P<0.001]. The relative probability of being considered a full implementer school compared with a non-implementer school was thirteen times higher for every one-unit increase in the provision of nutrition education [Exp(B)=13.326, SE=0.30, P<0.001]. DISCUSSION: Nutrition education is significantly associated with an increased probability of achieving a higher degree of PYFP implementation. These findings suggest, schools that provide nutrition education such as having students assess nutritional intake and set corresponding goals are better positioned to implement the PYFP.