Can physical activity reinforce nutrition education? Evaluation of physical activity in the Families in Transformation (FIT), wellness program for children

Objective: To determine if physical activity can reinforce nutrition education messages in the Families in Transformation (FIT ) program at HealthWorks! located in Tupelo, Mississippi.;Methods: Children ages 7--13 participating in the (FIT) program made up the subjects for this study. A control and treatment group were observed using a nutrition reinforcement physical activity and a non-nutrition reinforcement activity during the regular physical activity nights of the (FIT) program, and a pre and post Nutrition Quiz, Health Habits Survey, anthropometric data, and Fitness data were obtained pre and post study to determine if the intervention had an impact on the subjects.;Results: There were no significant differences seen in pre and post BMI . The means for the fitness test results are found in Table 3. Significant (p < 0.05) differences were seen from pre-program to post-program from for the girls in push-ups (14.00 + 6.23 to 20.2 + 5.63) and chair squats (29.3 + 3.23 to 32.4 + 4.59) which in turned affected significant differences for the total group for push-ups (14.31 + 7.62 to 19.63 + 6.62) and chair squats (30.50 + 10.21 to 34.44 + 7.39). Significant (p < 0.05) differences were seen from pre-program to post-program for sit-ups for the total group (39.63 + 5.80 to 44.38 + 4.91). Differences were almost significant in both girls and boys, but was not because sample size was smaller. The intervention group performed better on the nutrition quiz in 6 out of the 10 questions, 2 questions were 100% pre and post, 4 of the 10 questions being statistically significant. Children performed better on the post Nutrition Quiz than the pre Nutrition Quiz.;Conclusion: The nutrition reinforcement treatment group scored better on the post Nutrition Quiz in comparison to the control group. Nutrition reinforcement through physical activity does have a positive effect on nutrition education knowledge retention. Short term weight management programs do produce positive health effects.