Outcomes evaluation frameworks and methodologies

Obesity

The initial premise of the proposal is to lower the weight of obese and overweight individual students as well as the average weight overall for all the participants who are attempting to control not only their weight, but the foods they eat and lifestyle that they live. It is hoped that the teaching of diet and exercise skills and educational material will enhance the knowledge of all the participants; as well as influence the way that these young students eat, exercise and work towards a healthier lifestyle. If the study accomplishes the objectives and answers the questions posed to verify the reaching of the objectives, then the researcher will feel a sense of accomplishment.

That sense of accomplishment in no way means that the job is over, or that the study was successful overall. After all, studies have shown that "the prevalence of overweight and obesity among U.S. adolescents has almost tripled in the last 30 years" (Yost, Krainovich-Miller, Budin, Norman, 2010, p. 466) and if that is true, there are still huge weight problems to address in America. In an attempt to discern additional information and how it can be used to address the weight issue, the study will be monitored and evaluated long after the data has first been gathered and analyzed. Constant improvements to the program in an attempt to enhance the findings and overall results of the study, will mean that more individuals might be positively affected instead of a tiny sample population.

The plan is to have the participants learn about various food alternatives that might be eaten on a regular basis that have a much higher nutritional value than what they might normally consume.

Complementing that teaching will be a course of study in fitness and exercise that should assist the students in become much more aware of how their bodies can be tuned and maintained to provide optimal feelings of health and wellness.

The students will be asked to track in personal journals any progress that they make in their efforts to control, lose, or slim down their weight as well as their efforts to become more physically fit. The journals will track their feelings, thoughts and perceptions from a qualitative standpoint, and will track numerically their weight loss (or gain) and their personal fitness levels from a quantitative viewpoint. By implementing a mixed-research endeavor, it is hoped that the students will evidence hard facts and figures concerning their personal weight issues, as well as a change in perception(s) from a negative to a more positive stance.