Ingredients in nutrition education: family involvement, reading and race

The Chicago Heart Health Curriculum Program ( CHHCP ) is a comprehensive cardiovascular disease risk-reduction program specially designed for a multiracial population of sixth-grade students and their families. It was implemented in a large urban school system with Asian, black, Hispanic and white students. Pretest, posttest and follow-up data were collected. The purposes of this study were to compare the differential involvement of the four race/ethnic groups in the family intervention and to evaluate the program's immediate and long-term impact on students' nutrition knowledge, attitude and behaviors. Results indicated it was possible to conduct a family intervention with an educationally and racially diverse urban population. The patterns of family involvement and student outcomes varied for the different groups. Reading was significantly related to nutrition knowledge and attitude but not to behavior. Reinforcement appears to be necessary for students to maintain changes over time.