This research will evaluate the educational benefit of a newly developed board game called "Let's Eat." The game will be tested on 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students within the classroom setting at three different school systems in Southern California. Research has shown that most children's diets contain excessive amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol. The game is based on real foods in usual amounts. The game's value is that it 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 videotape 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, and teacher and student assessments.Awardee's statement of the potential cornmercial applications of the research: Successful research could lead to commercial sale of the game for 6th to 8th grade classes nationwide, alone or in conjunction with other cholesterol education tools. Other potential markets include seniors, diet centers, fitness and cardiac rehabilitation programs, and health-conscious families.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NLBI)
