Nutrition Education Makes a Difference

The perennial question for Extension educators is: "Do our educational programs make a difference?" Yes, we think so in the case of our nutrition and food safety program.

We evaluated the program in 1984, and again in 1988, to see if Extension audiences in the state improved diets and handled food safely between the two study years. We also studied a comparison sample of the general public in 1988.

In 1988, we studied a sample of 276 people from 64 counties who had participated in meetings, received circular letters, and/or had personal contacts with Extension home economics programs. For comparison, we randomly selected people from telephone books in target areas. The only difference in the sampling procedure in 1984 was that 23 counties and 372 program participants were included. County home economists drew the samples and used a telephone survey to ask respondents how often they followed 10 desirable and six undesirable practices.

Desirable practices studied included: preparing foods with oil or margarine, preparing meals at home, snacking on fresh fruits/vegetables, blanching vegetables for freezing, and washing cutting board with hot, soapy water. These desirable practices were reported by over 90% at both study times. In 1988, fewer respondents (5-13% less, p<.01) were following undesirable practices: preparing food with lard or bacon grease, frying food, salting food at table, trying fast weight loss diets, and leaving cooked food out of refrigerator.

The Extension participants followed desirable practices more often and undesirable practices less often when compared to general population respondents. These differences were statistically significant for 13 of 16 practices.

Our program is having a positive impact. Extension program participants continue to improve nutrition and food safety practices, and are doing better than the general public. The program's special emphasis on heart disease is bearing fruit, with people consuming less total fat and choosing lower-fat foods.

There was one significant negative. As many as 40% of the program participants are still following undesirable practices mentioned earlier. Therefore, future programs should stress adverse health effects of these practices as a good reason for change.