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The reported decrease in vegetable and carotenoid intake was unanticipated; nevertheless, the RRS measurements confirmed this. RRS data can help evaluate changes in fruit and vegetable intake.

Youth who participated in the SHCP decreased time spent in sedentary activity and increased very vigorous physical activity from pre- to post-intervention, while these changes were not observed at the control school. The overall small physical activity intensity pattern shift supports that physical activity is an important area to target within a multicomponent nutrition intervention aimed at preventing childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity continues to be a problem of national concern; school-based obesity prevention programs that incorporate nutrition education are among the efforts to address this issue. Implementation of these programs is often conducted through partner agencies like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed). As educators within these agencies have limited time and many schools qualify for programming, developing programs that extend reach by partnering with classroom teachers to deliver nutrition education is critical. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the effectiveness of a teacher extender model compared with direct nutrition education from trained staff using the research-tested, evidence-based Shaping Healthy Choices Program. Data collected as part of this evaluation in intervention and control groups included nutrition knowledge, body mass index percentile, and vegetable identification in youth; lesson fidelity observations and feasibility from teachers; and demographics from parents. Overall, unequal within variances did not allow for the statistical power to detect change. Generally, teachers enjoyed the program but found it too time-consuming to implement. While results were unclear, important lessons were learned regarding the implementation of extender programs warranting further research. Overall, this study aligns with others in the literature that indicate time is a major barrier to implementing nutrition education in the classroom. This study underscores the need for policy mandating nutrition education in schools.

Utilizing teachers as extenders may maximize the reach of Extension nutrition education programs; however, there is a need to identify effective professional development (PD) strategies to ensure quality implementation. Lesson study is a PD model that demonstrated improvements in school teachers’ self-efficacy and knowledge in various disciplines. In this study, fourth-grade teachers at two schools delivered nutrition education in their classrooms. Lesson study was examined to improve self-efficacy, content knowledge, and use of inquiry-based teaching strategies. While teachers at one school followed the lesson study model, teachers at the other school did not. Teachers reported time, resources, and funding were barriers to using lesson study and implementing the curriculum. Teachers who reported teaching nutrition previously declined in self-efficacy and knowledge. It is possible that they underestimated what would be required to teach this curriculum, resulting in a higher pre-test rating of self-efficacy compared to ratings after teaching the curriculum. This shift may have affected their motivation and willingness to participate fully in the lesson study process. Increasing teacher access to content experts during PD may improve teacher selfefficacy. Providing additional support and materials may increase the likelihood that teachers participate as extenders of Extension nutrition education programs.