Swap Up: Four Years of Behavior Change Through Adolescent Nutrition Education in Oklahoma

Abstract

Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust’s youth nutrition education campaign, Swap Up, is designed to provide Oklahoma adolescents (13–18 years old) with accessible and actionable information to make healthy daily nutrition choices. Four years of online survey data (n = 856) and a subset of longitudinal responses (n = 295) were analyzed to assess the campaign’s reach, resonance, and related nutrition-supporting beliefs and behaviors. A majority of participants reported aided campaign awareness (75%) and at least one form of digital engagement with campaign content (70%). A series of linear mixed-effects models with the full sample and longitudinal subsample demonstrated that digital engagement consistently predicted positive receptivity, nutritional beliefs, and nutritional behaviors and intentions. Aided campaign awareness, without digital engagement, was not a consistent predictor of campaign outcomes. A social and digital engagement-focused creative and media strategy was key to the success of Swap Up, highlighting the critical role of digital strategies in promoting nutrition-supporting, healthier beliefs and behaviors among an adolescent audience.