Fda's Snack Shack – a Virtual Tool That Educates Youth on the Nutrition Facts Label

Background:  Given the rising rates of obesity and prevalence of nutrition related chronic disease among Americans, a balanced and healthy diet is of great public health significance. The Nutrition Facts Label (NFL) is an important tool that can be used by the public to make healthful dietary choices. Although it is important for all Americans to read the Nutrition Facts Label, it is especially important for youth, who are learning to build lifelong habits as they compare and choose foods. 

Program background:  To help young people understand and practice using the NFL, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched Snack Shack, an educational program located in the virtual world of Whyville, in March 2016. The award-winning Whyville, founded in 1999 by Caltech scientists, offers more than 100 free games to 7 million registered “citizens.” Children and teens ranging in age from 8 to 15, use the site to explore, create, and learn together.  Snack Shack provides kids with hands-on experience in understanding and using the NFL as a tool to compare snacks, make smart food choices, and build healthy lifelong habits.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  Two interactive games were created for Snack Shack aiming to raise tweens’ awareness of and increase familiarity with the NFL, increase understanding of specific information on the label, such serving size, calories, %DV, and nutrients, and provide tweens with health and wellness related label information. The Snack Shack Clubhouse serves as a destination for citizens to play NFL-related games, post on the nutrition bulletin board to discuss and ask questions, and link to FDA websites and educational resources. Preliminary results from the first few months of the game’s use will be shared during this presentation, including user engagement, performance, and impact data. Additional learnings and updates related to this unique educational tool will also be shared.

Conclusions:  Through online avatars and gaming, tweens are able to learn about the NFL and related nutrition information within a social environment that fosters creativity, initiative, critical thinking and entrepreneurial spirit. By housing an education tool within a safe and monitored environment that is also a trustworthy and popular site used by tweens, FDA is able to reach Whyville’s seven million young citizens to promote the development of new skills for making smart dietary choices in the real world.

Implications for research and/or practice:  This presentation will provide guidance and insight into how virtual gaming offers a unique opportunity for health organizations to disseminate and share educational messages in a fun and interactive way, particularly for younger audiences.