"They taught us about the brain, muscles, and lots of other great stuff� I am so lucky that I go to a school that has Program ENERGY."
~Henry, 4th grade

Program Effectiveness

• After two years, Program ENERGY has increased and maintained health and science knowledge and improved attitudes and health behaviors of 7-9 yr old children in public elementary schools with large (~50%) Hispanic enrollment. A similar school served as the control.
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• Statistically significant increases in:
  • Health and science knowledge
  • Attitudes (e.g., healthy food selection, (Fig 1 & Fig 2))
  • Health behaviors (e.g., increased steps (Fig 3), increased body acceptance).
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• Enrollments ranged from 92-55% of 2nd & 3rd grade students (intervention and control, respectively) in four 2nd and three 3rd grade classes (~ 140 children).
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• Increased interest in science and health-related careers by the children.
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• During year 1, a separate 6-week intervention that used targeted newsletters and motivational challenges was effective in increasing parental diabetes knowledge and family physical activity through child-to-parent communication.