An After-School Program on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Elementary School Children

This study describes the Food and Fitness Fun Education Program (FFFEP), which was implemented in an after-school child care program in California. FFFEP consisted of 16 weeks of lessons and activities. Changes in healthy eating and physical activity in children and their parents were analyzed using pre- and posttests for children and a parent survey. In all, 1,810 children in kindergarten through fifth grades participated in the program. Testing of the children took place at the beginning and end of the program. A sample of parents in the 48 sites participated in surveys at the end of the program. Seventy-two percent of the children in the program were Hispanic. Children and parents reported healthier eating and an increase in physical activity as a result of the children's participation.