Page Contents
Overview
Target Behavior: Breastfeeding, Healthy Eating, Physical Activity
Intervention Type: Direct Education
Intervention Reach and Adoption
Setting: Community, Faith-based community, School
Target Audience: Adults, Parents/Mothers/Fathers
Race/Ethnicity: All
Intervention Components
Nine core lessons:
- Welcome to Eating Smart Being Active
- Get Moving!
- Plan, Shop, $ave
- Fruits & Veggies: Half Your Plate
- Make Half Your Grains Whole
- Go Lean With Protein
- Build Strong Bones
- Make a Change
- Celebrate! Eat Smart & Be Active
Three supplemental infant and maternal lessons:
- Eating Smart and Being Active During Pregnancy
- Feed Your New Baby
- Feeding Your Baby Solid Foods
Each lesson contains physical activity, participants actively involved in food preparation, and tips for food safety, saving money at the grocery store, and parenting related to the topic of the lesson.
Intervention Materials
Intervention Costs
Evidence Summary
Several evaluation studies have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of Eating Smart ● Being Active. Specifically, curriculum developers utilized experts in adult education, nutrition and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) from multiple states to review the curriculum during its development. Reviewers assessed the curriculum and confirmed it adhered to and effectively applied the tenets and principles of Social Cognitive Theory and Adult Learning and the content was based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines. Eating Smart • Being Active has since been updated to reflect the 2015 Dietary Guidelines and is currently being updated for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025.
In a separate research project, researchers compared behavior change outcomes from Eating Smart • Being Active with behavior change outcomes of prior EFNEP curricula in five states. Eating Smart • Being Active generally produced better outcomes than curricula used previously. In addition, when comparing pre and post test scores from participants taught Eating Smart • Being Active, participants reported significant, positive behavior change in food resource management, nutrition, food safety, and physical activity. Researchers also found that participants who received Eating Smart • Being Active increased their fruit and vegetable intakes. This research is published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior and won the Best Article Award for 2016. Similar results were seen in an Iowa study of a draft version of Eating Smart • Being Active.
Lastly, two qualitative evaluations of the curriculum were conducted using focus groups and interviews; investigators are currently preparing these results for publication. The first study focused on the physical activity aspects of Eating Smart • Being Active; researchers found that the participants, paraprofessionals and state level coordinators from four states generally liked the physical activity components of the lessons and that participants make positive behavior changes as a result of the physical activity content of Eating Smart • Being Active. The second study looked at the satisfaction of ESBA among paraprofessionals and state level coordinators from four states. Generally both groups like the curriculum, found the curriculum easy to use, found that their participants like the curriculum and think that the curriculum content makes a difference in their participants’ lives.
Eating Smart • Being Active was piloted by four states (California, Colorado, Iowa, and South Carolina) for six months. Results from the pilot and formative evaluation (described above) drove the editing process leading to the original version of Eating Smart • Being Active. The curriculum was released in 2008, revised in 2010 and again in 2017 and is now being used by EFNEP and/or SNAP-Ed programs in 80 states and US territories. Currently, Eating Smart • Being Active is being revised to comply with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 and to incorporate feedback from frontline workers across the country as well as to provide a fresh, modern look to the curriculum materials. The revised version of Eating Smart • Being Active will be available in early 2022.
Programs report increased behavior change in their programs as a result of implementing Eating Smart • Being Active. Specifically in Colorado in FY16, as a result of graduating from Eating Smart • Being Active:
- 93% of participants showed improvement in nutrition practices
- 91% of participants showed improvement in food resource management
- 63% of participants showed improvement in food safety
- 52% of participants showed improvement in physical activity
- 47% of participants showed improvement in vegetable consumption
- 43% of participants showed improvement in fruit consumption
- 44% of participants decreased their daily consumption of sodium
- 40% of participants more often choose low-fat foods
Classification: Research-tested
Evaluation Indicators
Readiness and Capacity – Short Term (ST) | Changes – Medium Term (MT) | Effectiveness and Maintenance – Long Term (LT) | Population Results (R) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Individual | ST1, ST2, ST3, ST4 | MT1, MT2, MT3, MT4 | ||
Environmental Settings | ||||
Sectors of Influence |
Evaluation Materials
Additional Information
Contact Person(s):
Ashley Clark
Curriculum Technology and Customer Support Lead
Colorado State University
Phone: 970-491-5922
Email: ashley.clark@colostate.edu
Susan Baker
EFNEP Coordinator
Colorado State University
Phone: 970-491-5798
Email: susan.baker@colostate.edu