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Cancer Control Research

Abstract

DESCRIPTION: National nutritional surveys indicate that children and adolescents are eating a diet that does not meet recommended intakes of fruits and vegetables and exceeds recommended intake of energy from total fat. These dietary patterns, that are learned in childhood and track into adulthood, predispose our youth for increased risk of some types of cancer, including breast, colon and stomach cancer. Populations that are of lower socioeconomic status have higher incidence rates of these and other cancers. This study proposes to implement a two-year, multi-component school-based program targeting multi-ethnic, lower socioeconomic students, their families, and their school environment to increase student intake of fruits and vegetables and to reduce their intake of calories form total fat. A randomized community trial design will be employed with 20 schools from two inner-city school districts (Minneapolis and St. Paul) being randomized to either the intervention or the delayed-program condition. These schools enroll a disproportionately large number of Minnesota minority children and children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Interventions will be implemented in the academic years 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 when students from the Class of 2004 are in their sixth and seventh grade. Formative evaluation will be conducted to determine messages and intervention strategies that are culturally appropriate and relevant. Intervention components will be comprised of 1) school curricula addressing eating cues, the influence of advertising on food choices and barriers to healthful food choices; 2) a home intervention component designed to facilitate student-parent discussions regarding dietary choices, increase parental awareness of the influence of the home environment on adolescent food choices, and increase the availability of healthful food choices in the home and 3) a school environment component targeting food availability, food cues and food-related incentives in the school environment.