In Defense of Food Recruited Viewer Study

As part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for the In Defense of Food project directed by Kikim Media, the independent evaluation firm Knight Williams Inc. conducted a summative evaluation of the project’s key deliverables, which included: a PBS television broadcast program, an outreach effort, and an educational curriculum. This report (Study 1 of 3) considers the film’s overall appeal, clarity, learning value, and motivational impact among viewers matching the film’s target audience, and focuses on the following six questions:

1) Did viewers find the film appealing, engaging, and comprehensible?
2) What were the most interesting things viewers thought they learned from the film, and how did they assess their knowledge of healthy eating and nutrition science after viewing?
3) Did the film increase viewers’ knowledge of healthy eating, nutrition science, and deceptive food marketing practices?
4) Did the film increase viewers’ motivation to engage in healthy eating?
5) Did the film increase viewers’ interest in nutrition science?
6) Did the film increase viewers’ ability to identify and analyze marketing messages about nutrition as well as their likelihood of doing so?