Funding is requested for Phase I research and development to evaluate the educational benefit of a newly developed board game called """"""""Let's Eat."""""""" The game will be tested on populations of 6th, 7th and 8th grade students within classroom setting at three different school systems within Southern California. Research has shown that most children's diets contain excessive amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol. The game was created by principal investigator Bruce Hector, M.D., and is based on real foods in usual amounts. The game's value is that is communicates important complex nutritional information in a format appealing to children. In October of 1987, the National Cholesterol Education Program and the National Institutes of Health established new recommendations for diet modification, especially reduction of saturated fat and cholesterol intake. Adherence to these recommendations in simulated game diets constitutes successful play. Game cards also include other risk factors -- cigarette smoking, exercise, hypertension, obesity and stress. A video tape introduction to heart disease and game rules will facilitate consistency in instruction. Test groups will be divided into control. lecture, game, and game and lecture subsets. Analysis will be conducted about nutritional knowledge, dietary behavior, teacher and student assessments.
