HSP Accomplishments

"This is a program that is desperately needed in the schools…and is greatly needed to give us resources we can’t provide."
--Staff member at a participating school

"Thanks to what I learned from the dietitian, I am now eating breakfast and being a bit more active."
--8th grader

Using a groundbreaking approach, HSP’s three partners – the American Dietetic Association Foundation (ADAF), the American Council for Fitness & Nutrition Foundation, and PE4life – have challenged traditional methods and revolutionized the teaching of nutrition and physical education.

In the fall of 2008, the ACFN Foundation and ADAF launched a study to measure the effectiveness of the RD nutrition coaching component of HSP. Working with the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health at University of California at Berkeley, the study included 500 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students from five schools in the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri. Three of the five schools were intervention schools receiving the HSP program and two schools received PE4life programming only. Participating schools serve a student population that is 75% or more eligible for free/reduced price lunch.

The Berkeley study examined three outcomes in both the intervention and control schools:

• Nutrition knowledge
• Beliefs about personal eating practices
• Actual food consumption in the cafeteria

Using a nine-point scale, researchers assessed students’ level of nutrition knowledge at baseline and at the conclusion of the study. At baseline, students at both the intervention and control schools demonstrated the same level of nutrition knowledge; at the conclusion of the study, however, students in the intervention schools had scores significantly greater than those of students in the control schools, particularly in understanding how to maintain a healthy body weight and recognizing the value of eating more fruits and vegetables.

To determine the impact of the RD nutrition coach, students were asked about their eating habits and about any attitudinal or behavioral changes they experienced. At baseline, a group of children from both the intervention and control schools said they never ate vegetables. At the conclusion of the study, however, twice as many of these students from the intervention group (31%) compared to the control group (17%) were eating vegetables at school lunch. Since vegetables are the most difficult food to persuade children to consume, this outcome was significant.

Program evaluators assessed the impact of the RD nutrition coach on the actual consumption of healthful foods using digital photography of the students’ trays taken before and after lunch at baseline and at the conclusion of the study. Specially trained researchers analyzed the consumption of fruits and vegetables, which previous studies have shown to be a good metric and the best indicator of a healthy diet and a healthy weight. Once again, the intervention schools achieved a superior rating. Trays were evaluated on a five-point scale. In the intervention schools, the difference in vegetable intake at the beginning of the study and at the conclusion was statistically significant.

Evaluation of the HSP program will continue with a new study that will measure metrics on students’ knowledge and behavior on physical activity and nutrition regarding energy balance to maintain a healthy weight. Researchers will also assess the value of the Healthy Schools Partnership among schools administrators, teachers and foodservice personnel, and changes in the schools environment associated with the program. Additionally, training academies will support a “train the trainer” approach in order to expand outreach and impact.