Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Back to Search

Part of the SNAP-Ed Strategies & Interventions Toolkit.* The Drexel University High School Nutrition Curriculum is a direct education curriculum designed to teach high school students the principles of the MyPlate Food Guidance system, while encouraging them to make healthy behavior changes to their own eating styles. Students will adopt or continue healthy eating habits that include: making half the plate fruits and vegetables, choose fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, and limit foods that are high in saturated fat, trans fat, added sugars, and sodium. This will allow students to work towards maintaining a proper energy balance to promote a healthy weight. Drexel University’s PA SNAP-Ed/Eat Right Philly program is a partner to the Pennsylvania (PA) SNAP-Ed Program (PA SNAP-Ed) and the School District of Philadelphia’s Eat Right Philly Program. The intervention works to foster positive healthy habits related to nutrition and physical activity.
Developer
Pennsylvania SNAP-Ed Program and Drexel University
Year
2019
Eat Right Philly Logo with Toolkit Strategy banner
Funding Source
USDA, SNAP-Ed
Free Material
Yes
Cost ($)
$0.00
SNAP-Ed Toolkit Classification
Practice-tested
Evidence
  • Evaluated
Evaluation Information
The modified Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) supplied by Pennsylvania (PA) SNAP-Ed, formerly known as PA Nutrition TRACKS, was used for both baseline and post-intervention surveys. The YRBS has been used by PA SNAP-Ed for several years and is well tested. In year one of the evaluation, students received the modified YRBS survey. In years two and three, additional curriculum-specific knowledge and attitude questions were added. These 19 supplemental questions were created and reviewed by faculty of the Drexel University Department of Nutrition Sciences and PA SNAP-Ed questions were developed based on the specific content of the five lessons being taught. A 0 to 5 rating scale was used by expert reviewers to decide the appropriateness and relevance of the questions. A score of 0 indicated the question was not appropriate for use, while a score of 5 was given to questions that were most appropriate for inclusion on the survey. After the intervention, an overall increase was seen in the amount of milk students reported consuming, but the type of milk was not specified. A knowledge and attitude survey added to the YRBS in years two and three showed significant improvements in knowledge and attitude. For instance, students showed a significant improvement in selecting the correct answers, including that as part of a healthy diet they should try to eat a variety of foods from the five food groups, exercise at least 60 minutes/day, and that soda contains “empty calories”. A 13.2% improvement was seen in student attitude by selecting that they would take the stairs if they went to a shopping mall. In addition to these changes, anecdotal observations were made that support the findings, specifically, students verbally volunteered that they were eating more vegetables, and after receiving the Drinks lesson, many students said they would not drink soda, demonstrating a personal motivation to make healthy changes.
Evaluation Framework Indicators
MT1
SNAP-Ed Connection Comments

* SNAP-Ed Strategies & Interventions: An Obesity Prevention Toolkit for States is a compilation of interventions. The toolkit was developed by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, The Association of SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Administrators (ASNNA), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Center for Training and Research Translation (Center TRT), and the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR), a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes for Health (NIH), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the USDA. It is designed and updated to help state SNAP-Ed administrative and implementing agencies identify evidence-based obesity prevention programs and policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies and interventions to include in their SNAP-Ed plans.

Review date
Reviewer Initials
MR