Evaluation of effectiveness of class-based nutrition intervention on changes in soft drink and milk consumption among young adults

A total of 80 college students aged 18 to 24 years who were enrolled in basic nutrition class participated in the study. Three-day dietary records were collected, verified, and analyzed before and after the intervention. Class lectures focused on healthful dietary choices related to prevention of chronic diseases and were combined with interactive hands on activities and dietary feedback.Class-based nutrition intervention combining traditional lecture and interactive activities was successful in decreasing soft drink consumption. Total milk consumption, specifically fat free milk, increased in females and male students changed milk choice favoring skim milk over low fat milk. (1% and 2%).Class-based nutrition education focusing on prevention of chronic diseases can be an effective strategy in improving both male and female college students' beverage choices. Using this type of intervention in a general nutrition course may be an effective approach to motivate changes in eating behaviors in a college setting.In the USA, carbonated soft drinks and milk are the two most popular non-alcoholic beverages, accounting for 39.1% of total beverage consumption [1]. Soft drink consumption has exploded over the past three decades [2] demonstrating a per capita availability increase from 22 gallons to 52 gallons [3,4]. Sugar sweetened soft drinks became a major source of added sugar in the American diet [5,6] and have been linked to adverse nutritional and health consequences such as dental caries and obesity [5,7-12]. Furthermore, evidence also supports an association between soft drink consumption and decreased bone mineral density (BMD) [8,13,14].Milk and other dairy products are the major source of dietary calcium contributing to about 70% of the calcium in the U.S. food supply [3]. Sixty years ago, Americans drank more than four times more milk as compared to soft drinks, but 2 1/3 times more soft drinks were consumed than milk by 1998 [3]. This trend demonstrates a possible