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Color Me Healthy

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Color Me Healthy is a physical activity and nutrition program developed to reach limited-resource children ages four and five. The program teaches children that healthy food and physical activity are fun by using color, music, and exploration of the senses. Development of the Color Me Healthy curriculum was based on the social cognitive theory and the socioecological model. The program was designed to be used in day-cares, Head Start classrooms, and child-care centers serving four and five year old children. The Color Me Healthy curriculum is fun, engaging, and interactive, and incorporates and stimulates all of the senses: touch, smell, sight, sound, and taste. The curriculum components include picture cards, original songs, and posters. Parent involvement is also a key component of the program. The program has been awarded multiple national and state excellence awards including the Nemours Vision Award for Excellence in Child Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and the Dannon Institute Award for Excellence in Community Nutrition.

Goal / Mission

The goal of Color Me Healthy is to promote and encourage physical activity and healthy eating among children ages four and five.

Impact

The program has had a positive impact on children's knowledge of and participation in physical activity. Similarly, it has had a positive impact on children's ability to recognize and their willingness to try fruits and vegetables. It has also increased children's fruit/vegetable snack consumption.

Results / Accomplishments

Over 50,000 childcare providers have been trained in using the Color Me Healthy curriculum in their childcare facility. Ninety-two percent of childcare providers said that Color Me Healthy increased children's physical activity, and 91.8% indicated that it increased the children's knowledge about movement. In addition, 93% stated that the curriculum increased the children's knowledge about healthy eating practices, 78% of teachers reported that the children were willing to try new fruits and vegetables, and 90% reported that there was an improvement in children's recognition of fruits and vegetables. An intervention study conducted in 2012 demonstrated that children who received the Color Me Healthy curriculum significantly increased their consumption of fruit snacks (by approximately 20.8%) and vegetable snacks (by approximately 33.1%) between baseline assessment and completion of the 3-month program. Children exposed to the program increased their consumption of all 4 types of fruits and vegetables included in the assessment.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Primary Contact
Dr. Carolyn Dunn, Professor and Nutrition Specialist
Box 7606
NC State University
Raleigh, NC 27695
(919) 515-9142
Carolyn_Dunn@ncsu.edu
http://www.colormehealthy.com
Topics
Health / Children's Health
Health / Physical Activity
Organization(s)
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Source
North Carolina Division of Public Health
Date of publication
11/2/2012
Date of implementation
2001
Location
North Carolina
For more details
http://colormehealthy.com/
Target Audience
Children

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  3. Healthy Eating, Active Communities
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Related Content for: Color Me Healthy

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.
MiCalhoun