statewide educational intervention to improve older Americans' nutrition and physical activity

The goal of "Take Charge of Your Health for Older Adults," a community-based,statewide intervention program, was to improve the nutritional status, functionala bility, and physical activity of older adults participating in Title III congregate meal programs in Georgia. A pre-test, a series of nutrition education and physical activity sessions, and a post-test were completed by 501 older adults. Results showed that the responses to several measures significantly improved after the intervention. For example, the percentage of older adults with knowledge that 5 daily servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended almost doubled (34 to 64 percent); whereas, those knowing that saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease rose from 55 to 77 percent. Consumption of vegetables--not including potatoes, carrots, or salad--increased from 1.6 to 1.8 average servings a day. Older adults also improved their walking speed from 9.8 to 9.1 seconds, and a greater percentage of the participants (from 55 to 82 percent) reported performing leg exercises during the previous week.