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Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior � Volume 41, Number 4S, 2009 Poster Abstracts S37

learn to change family behaviors and prevent unhealthyweight gain in children.Use of Theory or Research: Ecological theory and par-enting styles theory combined with research on behaviorsmostly likely to prevent obesity.Target Audience: EFNEP-eligible, low-income parents ofchildren ages 3-11 in 5 locations in New York State.Description: Through a series of 8 workshops on healthyeating, active play and effective parenting strategies forshaping home environments and children’s choices, par-ents learned to guide children’s food and active play choicesto prevent unhealthy weight gain. Focus was on 6 healthyeating and active play practices and the parenting skillsmost relevant for encouraging these practices within thefamily. During each 1.5-hour workshop parents learneda healthy practice, practiced a parenting skill, preparedand/or tasted new foods, and participated in active play.Parents identified weekly Healthy Steps to take with theirfamilies.Evaluation: Process and outcome evaluation of 30-month pilot intervention. Participants’ self-reportedfrequency of targeted food, activity and parenting behav-iors was assessed pre- and post-intervention. Focusgroups with workshop graduates identified messagesand actions with continued resonance 6 months aftergraduation.Conclusions and Implications: Parents and staff re-sponded positively to the CHANCE approach and gradu-ates reported significant improvements in behavior (p <0.0001). Integrating nutrition, active play and parentingskills education was a challenging but effective componentof efforts to prevent unhealthy weight gain among low-in-come children. This project was funded by EFNEP.

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P51 Integrating Healthy Snacks and PhysicalActivity in an Afterschool Program for RuralYouthMarilyn A. Swanson, PhD, RD, LD, mswanson@savechildren.org, Save the Children–US Programs, 2000 LStreet Northwest, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036;Vivica Kraak, MS, RD, vkraak@savechildren.org, Save theChildren–US Programs

Objective: Overweight and obesity are the leading publichealth problems for American children. Recent evidenceand formative research suggest that obesity risk is higherfor poor rural children (52%) reached by the CHANGE Pro-gram (Creating Healthy, Active and Nurturing Growing-upEnvironments), a Save the Children initiative to reducechildren’s obesity risk.Use of Theory or Research: Save the Children devel-oped healthy snack guidelines based on the Institute ofMedicine (IOM) and the Alliance for a Healthier Genera-tion (AHG) and uses the Coordinated Approach to ChildHealth (CATCH) physical activity curriculum in this modelafterschool program.Target Audience: Racially diverse, school-aged ruralchildren, ages 6-12 years, living in poverty.

Description: During 2007-08, over 9,000 children in 12states participated in CHANGE, an afterschool and sum-mer program that provides 30 minutes of physical activityand healthy snacks daily. Children also receive a model lit-eracy program to support their ability to read at grade level.The synergistic afterschool literacy and CHANGE programsprovide underserved rural children with a safe and healthylearning environment. Save the Children staff train andprovide technical assistance to coordinators hired by ruralschools to implement and monitor the programs.Evaluation: Participation, appropriateness of the snackand the amount and type of physical activity are moni-tored. A sample of children (n¼525) are enrolled in theCHANGE Study to evaluate health and behavioral out-comes resulting from the program participation.Conclusions and Implications: CHANGE effectivelyreaches poor rural children to foster healthy lifestyles forchildren, their families and communities. This project isfunded by Save the Children.

P52 Factors Influencing Implementation ofNutrition Education in the Classroom: AnAnalysis of Observations in the Choice, Control,and Change (C3) CurriculumHeewon Lee, MS, MEd, RD, hl2001@columbia.edu;Isobel R. Contento, PhD, irc6@columbia.edu;Pamela Koch, EdD, RD, pak14@columbia.edu;Angela Calabrese Barton, PhD, acb@msu.edu, TeachersCollege Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street, Box 137,New York, NY 10027

Objective: To determine factors that influence active stu-dent engagement and positive classroom process duringthe implementation of an obesity risk-reduction nutritionintervention called Choice, Control, and Change (C3).Design, Setting and Participants: Qualitative researchdesign involving detailed field notes of observations of cur-riculum implementation by teachers in 20 classrooms infive NYC middle schools.Intervention: The C3 curriculum combines inquiry-based science education activities and social cognitive the-ory based behavioral change strategies to improve eatingand physical activity behaviors related to obesity-risk re-duction. The intervention consisted of 24 lessons taughtover 8-10 weeks.Outcome, Measures and Analysis: Classroom observa-tion for one third of all classes taught was performed by re-search staff, who completed a form that was individualizedfor each lesson. Field notes were also added. Content anal-ysis was performed to analyze the data.Results: The students were most engaged during thehands-on, experiment activities; moderately engaged ingroup activity, goal setting, and summing up projects;and least engaged in reading, writing, discussions, and the-orizing from the activities. The most effective way forteachers to provide a positive classroom learning environ-ment or handle discipline problems was talking to themabout being respectful or having a serious talk with themwithout raising the voice.

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S38 Poster Abstracts Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior � Volume 41, Number 4S, 2009

Conclusions and Implications: When creating a nutri-tion education program in a science or other classes,hands-on activities and goal-setting would be effectivemethods to capture the students’ attention and engage-ment. Teachers should actively assist students to engagein writing and discussions, which are very important forlearning, and not simply leave them to the students todo. This project was funded by NIH RR-20412.

P53 Assessment of Learning Style PreferenceBetween Dietetic and Non-Dietetic MajorsAlana Cline, PhD, RD, alana.cline@unco.edu, University ofNorthern Colorado, Dietetics Program, Campus Box 93,Greeley, CO 80639; Alena Clark, PhD, RD, alena.clark@unco.edu, University of Northern Colorado, DieteticsProgram

Objective: The purpose of this project was to determinethe primary way dietetic students prefer to learn; and com-pare the differences in preferred learning styles betweengenders, dietetic majors vs. non-dietetic majors and under-graduate dietetic majors vs. graduate dietetic interns.Design, Setting and Participants: A convenience sam-ple of undergraduate students (n¼52 total; 32 dietetics ma-jors, 20 non-dietetics majors) and dietetic interns (n¼13)enrolled at a university in Colorado completed the 16question, reliable and valid VARK survey over a one yearperiod. Fifty-eight women and seven men completed thesurvey.Outcome, Measures and Analysis: Preferred learningstyles were determined among groups using the VARKsurvey; a tool used to define the preferred mode that indi-viduals prefer to take in new information. VARK preferenceareas include visual (V), aural/hearing (A), read-write (R)and kinesthetic (K). Descriptive statistics and chi-squaretests were determined using SPSS 15.0 with a significancelevel of .05.Results: The majority of women preferred the kinestheticlearning style (n¼20, 35%) and men were split evenlyamong the four different learning style areas. The preferredlearning style of dietetic majors was kinesthetic (n¼12;38%) while non-dietetic majors (n¼7; 35%) preferredread-write (p<.05). Read-write and kinesthetic (n¼7;54%) was the preferred learning style of dietetic interns.Conclusions and Implications: Varied learning styleswere noted among the different student populations. De-termining preferred learning styles of students may enablefaculty members in Dietetic Programs to tailor their teach-ing methods (e.g. lectures, discussions, role playing, simu-lations) to meet the learning needs of the students in theircourses.

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P54 Protein and Creatine SupplementationHabits among University StudentsSteve TA Bui, MS, stbui@neo.tamu.edu; Natalie Caine-Bish, PhD, RD, LD, ncaine@kent.edu; Eun J Ha, PhD, eha@

kent.edu; Karen Lowry-Gordon, PhD, RD, LD, klowry@kent.edu, Family and Consumer Studies, Kent State University,Kent, OH 44242

Objective: To conduct a descriptive analysis of protein andcreatine supplementation habits and knowledge amongcollege students (including NCAA student athletes).Design, Setting and Participants: An electronic sur-vey was sent to 8000 randomly chosen undergraduatestudents at a Midwestern state university pertaining totheir use of protein and creatine supplementation habits.There were 1,500 responses yielding an 18.8% responserate.Outcome, Measures and Analysis: Descriptive statis-tics were used to calculate frequency, mean, standard devi-ation, percentages, and ranges. Chi-square tests were usedto determine gender differences in knowledge of supple-ments. Independent t-test was used to find differences insupplementation by each gender. Ratios comparing pro-tein intake to body weight were also determined.Results: Almost 10% of participants reported using acreatine or protein supplement. Forty-two percent of themale respondents reported creatine use. No females re-ported creatine supplementation. Ninety-eight of themales using creatine had an improper maintenance dose.There was also a general lack of knowledge regarding theprocedure of creatine supplementation and its functionswhereby 69.2% of females and 23.7% of males did notknow how much protein they were supplementing withper day. Furthermore, 38% of females compared to10.8% of males reported weight loss as the main reasonfor supplementation.Conclusions and Implications: The current study indi-cates that there is a need for nutrition education to helpunderstand the proper use and function of creating andprotein supplements in the college student population.

P55 Beverage Consumption Patterns amongCollege StudentsEun J Ha, PhD, eha@kent.edu; Natalie Caine-Bish, PhD, RD,LD, ncaine@kent.edu; Karen Lowry-Gordon, PhD, RD, LD,klowry@kent.edu, Family and Consumer Studies, KentState University, Kent, OH 44242

Objective: The present study was designed to describebeverage consumption among college students.Design, Setting and Participants: The sample con-sisted of 174 college students who participated in nutritionintervention using a basic nutrition class. The 3-day die-tary records collected from participants before the inter-vention were utilized for the current study.Outcome, Measures and Analysis: Descriptive statis-tics were used to compute means and standard deviationsfor beverage consumption variables.Results: Sixty-three percent of participants reported con-suming milk and daily intake per consumer was 7.59�6.71ounces. A total of 90 of students consumed soft drinkwith an average consumption of 11.05�7.95 ounces per