Expanding MATCH-Type Wellness Program to Improve Adolescent Health Outcomes

MATCH (Motivating Adolescents with Technology to CHOOSE Health) is an online, interdisciplinary wellness program targeted at improving adolescent nutrition that teachers can easily incorporate into existing curricula. The shift from childhood to adolescence is characterized by rapid increases in autonomy of nutritional intake. Given that dietary habits established in adolescence often persist into adulthood, effective nutrition education programs during this period are of particular relevance. Although there are a vast number of existing nutrition education programs aimed at adolescents, we explain why MATCH and similar programs should be expanded across the United States to improve adolescent health outcomes including obesity prevention.