Outcome effectiveness of the widely adopted EFNEP curriculum Eating Smart-Being Active.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) curriculum Eating Smart-Being Active (ESBA).

Design And Setting: A quantitative, multi-state, nonequivalent comparison group pretest-posttest design was used to compare nutrition-related behavior changes in participants. ESBA was compared to previously used curricula for 3 different time periods in 5 states using the EFNEP evaluation tool.

Participants: Adults enrolled in EFNEP who completed their entry and exit paperwork during any of the 3 time points.

Intervention: An 8-lesson adult curriculum based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate.

Analysis: Analysis of variance and covariance (with pretests scores and demographic variables as covariates) were used to analyze data with significance at P ≤ .05.

Results: ESBA elicited a mean positive behavior change for food resource management (P < .01), food safety (P ≤ .001), nutrition (P < .001), and physical activity level in participating states (P ≤ .01). Compared with previous curricula, ESBA produced better mean outcomes in food resource management, nutrition, physical activity, and intakes of fruit and vegetables.

Conclusion And Implications: ESBA is effective at eliciting positive nutrition-related behavior change. The results of this multi-state, practice-based approach suggest that ESBA is effective in multiple settings and has external validity for use in EFNEP and other community nutrition programs.