2. Overall Project Developed alternative lyrics to existing
songs that communicated obesity prevention strategies to children
between the ages of six and nine years. Goal Deliver health
messages that promote health behaviors and are known to reduce risk
of obesity among children in a memorable and engaging way. Targeted
Outcome Develop evidence-based educational materials that will
effectively familiarize children with health recommendations for
obesity prevention.
3. Background Childhood overweight and obesity rates: United
States: 33% Chicago: 58%- 68% Setting: Chicago, IL 5 Participants
between the ages of six and nine years Chicago Public School
Students Parental Approval (Crowther, 2012) (Governor, 2011) ,
(Overweight and Obesity, 2013) (Ogden et al., 2014) Evidence has
shown that music is an effective method of teaching: Triggers
memories and activates recall of thoughts Songs increase
acceptability Sustainable method for retention of information
Creates a relaxed environment Easy to remember Can listen over and
over again
4. Methods Key Objectives 1) Pilot test songs as a
communication method to deliver evidence-based health messages to
children 2) Evaluate the extent to which the health songs can be
used for health education 3) To assess whether children (a) have
learned positive health behaviors (b) have changed their
preferences regarding certain health behaviors Pre-test/ Post-test
6 questions Avoid interview fatigue Capture attention Participants
interviewed individually Analyzed responses to assess if children
learned from songs (Baranowski & Perry, 1997; Olson&
Hergenhahn, 2009)
5. Social Cognitive Theory The SCT maintains that learning
occurs: By observing & modeling the behaviors & attitudes
of others The best in a social environment Learning process has 2
dimensions: 1. Cognitive dimension involve individual processes of
cognition and personal understandings 2. Social dimension addresses
context of learning (Baranowski & Perry, 1997; Olson&
Hergenhahn, 2009) Behavior Personal Factors (Cognitive)
Environmental Factors (Social)
6. Methods Identified important health messages for obesity
prevention for 6-9 year olds. Composed alternative song lyrics to 3
familiar songs on the radio, each targeting a health
recommendation: Song Title/ Composer Health Recommendation Song
Theme Blank Space- Taylor Swift Drink 5 glasses of water daily and
avoid sugar-sweetened beverages. Drink water. Let it Go- Frozen Eat
breakfast daily. Avoid skipping breakfast. Eat breakfast.
Cheerleader- OMI Spend at least 60 minutes doing moderate to
vigorous play or physical activity daily. Exercise. (Baidal &
Taveras 2012), (Davis et al., 2007), (Gidding et al., 2006) *See
song lyrics at the end of this presentation* Familiar Relatable
Catchy Easy to remember Age appropriate
7. Methods Each participant completed all 3 steps of the study
in one day. 1) Pre-test 2) Intervention Introduced 3 different
health songs Practiced each song 4-5 times with children 3)
Post-test Immediately after children learned and rehearsed the
songs
8. Pre/Post-Test Questionnaire Question Correct answer (based
on song) 1. Can you tell me what you think children should do when
they are thirsty? Drink water 2. Can you tell me how many glasses
of water you think you should drink everyday? 5 glasses 3. What are
some of the things children can eat for breakfast? Oatmeal, fruit,
anything healthy. 4. How can we make sure that children dont skip
breakfast? Can you mention a strategy? Take it to go. 5. Why do you
need to eat breakfast? Otherwise you may feel weak. 6. How often do
you think children should exercise? 60 min/day Table 1
9. Results: Pre-Test Table 2 Question Child 1 Child 2 Child 3
Child 4 Child 5 1. Get water or some other drink. Drink water and a
little bit of juice. Drink Gatorade. Water or something similar.
Apple juice or water. 2. 2 glasses 4 glasses 3 water bottles
filled. 3 glasses, one with each meal. Not sure. 3. Frosted Flakes
and cheerios are the healthiest ones I know. Cheerios, but not the
honey ones because they are too sweet; Yogurt. For breakfast you
shouldnt have too much sugar because youll get too hyper in the
morning. Eggs and bacon or cereal. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Waffles
or cereal and juice. 4. Have mom ask what you want for breakfast.
Dont know. Dont leave the house without eating breakfast. Eat
something you like. I dont know. 5. So they can stay healthy and
not feel hungry in the morning. To stay healthy and fit. Because
its the most important meal of the day If I dont eat breakfast I
get too hungry before lunch So you dont feel hungry all day. 6. 2x
day for 10 min everyday. 2 hours everyday. Everyday Everyday in the
morning and at night 10 minutes everyday. Water Breakfast
Exercise
10. Blank Space-Taylor Swift Example of a catchy song that I
chose to remix for the purposes of health education on obesity
prevention.
11. 5 Glasses of Water-a-Day -Elana Frydman So you gotta drink
some water, Dont let it go down the drain. You shouldnt drink that
soda, Cause that much sugar wouldnt help you anyway. Not a lot of
people realize, That youre simply thirsty all day. Gotta drink five
glasses of water-a-day, And youll win the game!
12. Results: Post-Test Table 3 Question Child 1 Child 2 Child 3
Child 4 Child 5 1. Drink water, not soda. Drink 5 glasses of water
a day. Drink water and not pop. Water Water or juice. 2. 5 glasses.
5 glasses. 5 glasses. 5 glasses. 5 glasses. 3. Fruit or cereal.
Oatmeal and yogurt. Oatmeal. Whatever you want, as long as you eat.
Oatmeal or fruit or cereal. 4. Take it to go. Let them eat it
anywhere they want. Eat it out and take it to go. Eat it wherever
you want. Take it to go. 5. To stay healthy. To stay healthy and
not weak. So youre not weak. Because youll be hungry and weak. To
be healthy and have energy. 6. An hour-a- day. An-hour-a- day.
An-hour-a- day. An-hour-a- day. An hour-a- day. Water Breakfast
Exercise
13. Discussion Using familiar tunes to educate children was an
effective method of delivery in this study. Children are able to
learn health recommendations in a short period of time through the
use of songs. Participants enjoyed singing to songs they know and
were able to remember the songs. Participants appreciated the
interactive and engaging environment.
14. Limitations and Advantages Short Questionnaire Time
Constraint All participants were students of Chicago Public Schools
Inability to complete IRB training Children were cooperative
Trouble recruiting participants Children easily entertained Small
sample size Participants exhibited enthusiasm and positive
attitudes Sample not random Children enjoy learning in fun and
social way Only boys in sample
15. Recommendations Test this intervention on Larger sample
size Random sample including both males and females Rehearse the
songs with children over a longer period of time 4x/day for 1 week
Repetition enhances memory Songs successful at communicating health
recommendations to the children in this study Using songs to teach
children may be appropriate
16. Acknowledgements A special thank you to: Dr. Klonoff-Cohen,
PhD, Director of MPH Program, UIUC Capstone Faculty Advisor Liliana
Aguayo, MPH. PhD Student, UIUC Capstone Supervisor Lena Hann, MPH,
CHES MPH Coordinator, UIUC Participants in my study
17. Works Cited Baidal, J. A. W., & Taveras, E. M. (2012).
Childhood obesity: shifting the focus to early prevention. Archives
of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 166(12), 1179-1181.
Baranowski, T., Perry, C. L., & Parcel, G. S. (1997). How
individuals, environments, and health behavior interact. In K.
Glanz, F. M. Lewis, & B. K. Rimer (Eds.), Health behavior and
health education: Theory, research and practice (2nd ed.). San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Bellezza FS. (1981). Mnemonic devices:
classification, characteristics, and criteria. Rev Education
Resources(51), 247275. Crowther, G. (2012). Using Science Songs to
Enhance Learning: An Interdisciplinary Approach.CBE - Life Sciences
Education, 11(1), 26-30. Davis, M. M., Gance-Cleveland, B.,
Hassink, S., Johnson, R., Paradis, G., & Resnicow, K. (2007).
Recommendations for prevention of childhood obesity. Pediatrics,
120(Supplement 4), S229-S253. Giddling, S., Dennison, B., Birch,
L., Daniels, S., Gilman, M., Lichtenstein, A., Rattay, K.,
Steinberger, J., Stettler, N., and Van Horn, L. (February 2006).
Dietary Recommendations for Children and Adolescents: A guide for
practitioners. Journal of Pediatrics, 117(2), 544-559. Governor D.
PhD Dissertation. Athens: University of Georgia; 2011. Teaching and
learning science through song: exploring the experiences of
students and teachers. Nader, P. R., Huang, T. T. K., Gahagan, S.,
Kumanyika, S., Hammond, R. A., & Christoffel, K. K. (2012).
Next steps in obesity prevention: altering early life systems to
support healthy parents, infants, and toddlers. Childhood Obesity
(Formerly Obesity and Weight Management), 8(3), 195-204. Olson,
M.H. & Hergenhahn, B.R. (2009). Introduction to Theories of
Learning. (8th ed.)
18. Questions? How about an hour a day? How much shouldyou
exercise?
19. Let it Go-Frozen Eat Your Breakfast Edition
20. Cheerleader-OMI Exercise an Hour-a-Day Edition
