Statistical Analyses
It was expected that relative to the comparison group, participants
enrolled in the MSB-Nutrition course and those
participants in the on-campus course would demonstrate improved
scores on psychosocial variables (eg, self-efficacy to
choose and consume fruits and vegetables), nutrition behaviors,
exercise behaviors, and a decrease in BMI. A repeatedmeasures
analysis of variance(ANOVA)was used to examine
the simple effect of time and the time by group interaction.
If a significant effect for time (pretest and posttest) or the
time by group interaction was observed, Bonferroni post hoc
tests were performed to determine the nature of the differences.
Measures of effect size (Cohen’s d) are provided for
any significant effects.
Prior to conducting any analyses, variables were tested to
ensure that the assumptions of the statistical techniques to be
utilized were met. This involved computing frequency distributions,
histograms, and measure of skewness. All variables
were approximately normally distributed except for
fruit consumption, vegetable consumption, and aerobic exercise.
These variables did not meet assumptions and were
transformed using natural log transformations. After analysis,
each transformed variablewas returned to its normal state