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New Mexico State University

Overview

PROGRAM GOAL

Reduce childhood obesity risk factors for 5th graders in Rio Arriba County, Santa Fe County and Los Alamos County by:

  • Increasing nutrition knowledge
  • Increasing fruit and vegetable intake
  • Increasing activity level
  • Educating teachers and family members to support healthy lifestyle choices for students

PROGRAM DELIVERY

Day-long Nutrition & Fitness Field Trip Workshops

  • Vary your veggies & focus on fruits
  • My Pyramid
  • Power up with exercise
  • Fun with food facts

Year-long Classroom Instruction from Just Be It Curriculum

  • 10-12 sessions
  • Teacher, family & student resources
  • Exercise kits- jump ropes, frisbees, exercise bands
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Parent Outreach

  • 11 bilingual newsletters & 4 bilingual placemats sent home
  • Compiled from Nibbles Curriculum and MyPyramid
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Newsletter for parents

EVALUATION

Instruments

Nutrition Knowledge Pretest and Post Test

  • 16 multiple choice questions in Spanish and English
  • Validity and reliability established

Fruit & Vegetable Intake, Physical Activity Pretest and Post Test

  • 18 questions in Spanish and English
  • Content validity established by panel of experts
  • Developmentally appropriate for 5th graders

Parent Pre/Post Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire

  • 8 questions in Spanish and English
  • Content validity established by panel of experts

Data Analysis

  • Paired T-tests determined significant difference between pre and post test scores
  • Significance set at p<.05
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Parent comment:
"I just wanted to thank you and your office for the Just Be It! program. My son is a 5th grader and has had wonderful things to say about the program. We made special trips to the grocery store after many of the programs so that we could make the snacks at home. I always hear all about what he learned on days the program was at his school. I don't know if you get much feedback from the parents, but I hope you know it has made a difference for my child."

Team Members

  • Jacqueline S. Baca, Santa Fe County Extension 4-H Home Economist jabaca@nmsu.edu
  • Desaree Jimenez deswhitf@nmsu.edu, Rio Arriba County Extension Home Economist
  • Paula Roybal Sánchez paulas@nmsu.edu, Los Alamos County Extension Home Economist/4-H Agent
  • Kathleen S. Garcia kgarcia5@phs.org, RN, Clinical Project Coordinator, Community Diabetes Initiative, Presbyterian Health Services, Española Hospital
  • Celina Roybal, Physical Education Teacher, San Juan Elementary
  • Diana DelCampo ddelcamp@nmsu.edu, Extension Child & Family Specialist, New Mexico Extension Service
  • Robert DelCampo rdelcamp@nmsu.edu, Professor, Family & Consumer Sciences, New Mexico State University

Community Partners

  • Presbyterian Health Services, Española Hospital
  • Española Public Schools
  • Los Alamos Public Schools
  • Santa Fe Public Schools