A hip new program called "EatFit" is helping adolescents to change their eating and exercising habits using "guided goal-setting," a new tool developed by UC nutrition specialists and advisors.

EatFit includes a teen-oriented magazine, interactive Web site at www.eatfit.net, and school curriculum designed for 11- to 15-year-olds. The message is one of dietary moderation and common-sense fitness, a critical component of addressing the growing prevalence of obesity among youth and adults. Instead of setting their own goals, which is usually unrealistic for middle-school-age children, the program guides them toward positive changes.

About 120 middle schools are using the curriculum, as well as after-school programs and camps, with an estimated 15,000 children participating in 2003.

One evaluation of the program, published earlier this year in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, found that 74 percent and 79 percent of 8th graders participating in EatFit made at least one positive change in their dietary and physical activity behaviors, respectively.

To develop the materials, UC researchers conducted interviews with children and their teachers.

"We found out that we needed to be hip," says Marilyn Townsend, UC Davis nutrition specialist and leader of the EatFit group. "That's why we went with the magazine format for kids. They also told us that they wanted a computer component."

How does it work?

The Web site includes recipes and success stories that serve to gather information and get motivated, plus an innovative online analysis to help teens evaluate how they currently eat and determine healthy goals.

Users type in the foods they ate in a 24-hour period. The site helps narrow down specifics on types of food and serving sizes, then gives a brief analysis and offers two goals for making the diet healthier. The teen selects one, and then is given a selection of small habit changes to help achieve that goal.