Enhancing personal agency and competence in eating and moving: formative evaluation of a middle school curriculum--Choice, Control, and Change

J Nutr Educ Behav. 2007 Sep-Oct;39(5 Suppl):S179-86. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2007.02.006.

Abstract

The purpose of this formative evaluation was to examine the impact of an innovative inquiry-based science education curriculum for middle school students, called Choice, Control, and Change, that is designed to foster healthful eating and physical activity and a healthy weight through enhancing agency and competence. The 24-session curriculum helps students develop understandings about the interactions between biology, personal behavior, and the environment and personal agency through cognitive self-regulation skills in navigating today's complex food system and sedentary environment. An extended theory of planned behavior served as the design framework. The study used a pretest-posttest evaluation design involving 278 middle school students in 19 science classes within 5 schools. Based on paired t tests, students significantly improved on several curriculum-specific eating and physical activity behaviors: they decreased several sedentary activities and increased their frequencies of fruit and vegetable intake. They decreased the frequency of sweetened beverages, packaged snacks, and eating at a fast-food restaurant, and ate and drank smaller portions of some items. Their outcome beliefs and overall self-efficacy, but not their attitudes, became more positive. A strategy based on fostering personal agency, cognitive self-regulation, and competence can be effective in increasing healthful eating and physical activity behaviors in middle school children and should be explored further.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Attitude to Health
  • Child
  • Choice Behavior / physiology*
  • Cognition / physiology
  • Curriculum / statistics & numerical data
  • Diet / methods*
  • Diet / psychology
  • Diet / standards
  • Feeding Behavior / psychology*
  • Health Behavior
  • Health Education / methods*
  • Health Education / statistics & numerical data
  • Health Promotion / methods*
  • Humans
  • Internal-External Control*
  • Motor Activity / physiology*
  • New York
  • Personal Autonomy
  • Program Development
  • Schools
  • Self Efficacy
  • Social Environment