A School-Based Cardiovascular Exercise and Nutrition Program With Parent Participation: An Evaluation Study

This study examined the efficacy of a school-based exercise and nutrition program with a parent component. Second-grade and fourth-grade classrooms were assigned randomly to a treatment and a control group. The school-based treatment program focused on decreasing fat and cholesterol intake and increasingly physical activity with a parent educational component. Children in the treatment group scored significantly higher and demonstrated greater improvement on fitness/nutrition knowledge and on vegetable and fruit servings. Parents who participated in the intervention increased their scores on the fitness/nutrition knowledge test. There also was a significant association between degree of family involvement, higher grain servings, and lower cholesterol intake. The results within the study limitations were interpreted to suggest that the program was primarily effective in enhancing knowledge changes for both children and their parents.