Baltimore Healthy Eating Zones (BHEZ) intervention program improves food related knowledge among low‐income inner‐city youth

The Baltimore Healthy Eating Zones (BHEZ) program consisted of a 9‐month intervention in Baltimore City recreation centers and local corner stores. BHEZ sought to increase access to healthy foods and positively influence psychosocial factors and eating behaviors among youth and caregivers in low‐income, predominantly African‐American neighborhoods. The study was evaluated in 71 African American youths aged 10 to 14 and their primary caregivers, recruited from 7 intervention and 7 control recreation centers. The impact of the intervention was measured by pre‐ and post‐ intervention surveys, compared by a paired sample t‐test. Intervention group youth significantly improved their food‐related knowledge as assessed by 12 questions (mean improvement of 1.1 correct answers, p‐value < 0.001), while control group youth did not improve their knowledge significantly (mean improvement 0.419, p‐value = 0.266). These preliminary findings indicate that the BHEZ intervention made a significant impact in improving the food‐related knowledge among Baltimore African‐American youths. Grant Funding Source : The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation