Evaluating a Fruit and Vegetable Program in Eastern Ontario Schools (original) (raw)
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Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2012
Objective: To assess the impact of a multicomponent nutrition education program on student knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to consumption of fruits and vegetables (FVs). Design: Quasi-experimental pretest/posttest research design; 3 study conditions (Interventionþ, Intervention, Comparison). Setting: Six schools from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Participants: Three hundred ninety-nine low-income third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students. Intervention: The Interventionþ condition included 4 components: traditional Network-LAUSD program, new standardized nutrition curriculum, teacher training workshops, and parent nutrition education workshops. The Intervention condition included 2 components: traditional Network-LAUSD program and teacher training workshops. Main Outcome Measures: Fruit and vegetable consumption, knowledge of food groups, attitudes and beliefs toward FVs, and parent/teacher influence on students' attitudes toward FVs. Analysis: Linear mixed models. Results: The Interventionþ resulted in a positive change in knowledge (P < .05), attitudes and beliefs toward vegetables (P < .01), and teacher influence on students' FV attitudes (P < .05). Conclusions and Implications: Although this study influenced knowledge and attitudes regarding FVs, a significant increase in students' FV consumption was not observed. Given the ultimate aim of the LAUSD nutrition efforts is to increase FV consumption, future studies should consider adopting new intervention strategies, such as focusing on changing the school food environment.
Health Education & Behavior, 2004
The Cafeteria Power Plus project examined whether a cafeteria-based intervention would increase the fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption of children. Twenty-six schools were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control condition. Baseline lunch observations of a sample (N = 1668) of first-and third-grade students occurred in the spring of 2000; follow-up was in the spring of 2002. The intervention took place during two consecutive school years beginning in the fall of 2000 and consisted of daily activities (increasing the availability, attractiveness, and encouragement for FV) and special events (kick-offs, samplings, challenge weeks, theater production, and finale meal). Training of food-service staff and cook managers was ongoing throughout the intervention phase. Students in the intervention schools significantly increased their total fruit intake. Process measures indicated that verbal encouragement by food-service staff was associated with outcomes. The outcomes suggest that multicomponent interventions are more powerful than cafeteria programs alone with this age group.
Journal of School Health, 2016
BACKGROUND: Most Canadian children do not meet daily recommendations for consumption of vegetables and fruits (V/F) and dairy products (DP). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of Team Nutriathlon on V/F and DP consumption of children. METHODS: Participants were 404 children from grades 5 and 6 (intervention group [IG] N = 242, control group [CG] N = 162). Teams of children were guided to increase their consumption and variety of V/F and DP over an 8-week period. Daily servings of V/F and DP were compared between groups at 4 time points: baseline (week 0), during (week 6), immediately after (week 9 or 10), and a follow-up 10 weeks after (week 20) the intervention. RESULTS: During and after the program and at follow-up, children in the IG consumed more servings of V/F and DP compared to the CG (group × time, p < .0001). Sex, baseline consumption levels, and school socioeconomic status did not influence the results (p > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Team Nutriathlon is an innovative school-based nutrition program that can help to increase the V/F and DP consumption of children.
Background: Schools are the major locations for implementing children's dietary behavior related educational or interventional programs. Recently, there has been an increase in school-based nutrition interventions. The objective of this systematic review was to overview the evidence for the effectiveness of school-based nutrition intervention on fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods: PubMed was used to search for articles on school-based nutrition interventions that measured students' fruit and vegetable consumption. Our search yielded 238 articles. The article was included if published in a peer-reviewed journal, written in English language, administered in the United States, and conducted among a population-based sample of children in Kindergarten through eighth grade. A total of 14 publications met the inclusion criteria. Results: Eight articles successfully showed the positive effect on increasing fruit and or vegetable consumption while the other six did not. Several factors, including (but not limited to) intervention duration, type of theory used, style of intervention leadership, and positively affecting antecedents of fruit and vegetable consumption were compared; however, no dominant factor was found to be shared among the studies with significant findings. Given that the criteria for selection were high, the lack of consistency between interventions and positive outcomes was surprising. Conclusion: With high levels of scrutiny and budget constraints on school nutrition, it is imperative that more research be conducted to identify the effective intervention components.
International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition, 2013
Introduction: Less than 15% of the 4 to 8-year old children consume the recommended servings of fruit and vegetables (FV). Early years of life play an important role in establishing healthy eating habits. School is an appropriate setting for healthy eating habits interventions. The purpose of this systematic review is evaluation of school-based interventions to improve FV consumption in elementary school students. Methods: In this systematic review, we performed a search in several databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Science Direct and Google Scholar. Studies published between January 2005 and December 2012 were included. In examining the studies, we focused on design, strategies and outcomes of the interventions. Results: Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Interventions in these three classifications (gardening and education, educational programs and providing FV) have positive effects on children's FV intake. Multi-component education is more effective than other cases in children willingness for FV consumption. Gardening strategies: participating in handson gardening experiences, engaging in gardening challenges and preparing a party by student's garden products. Educational strategies: nutrition education classes, electronic learning by using the popular cartoon characters and child actors as symbolic role models and strategies to improve family awareness like series of newsletters for parents and homework tasks for parents and children. Providing strategies: providing fee-based or free FV at school. Conclusion: Long-term multi-component (gardening, education and providing FV) interventions with the application of behavioral change theories and models are effective to reach the expected results.
Perspectives in Public Health, 2013
Aims: Although previous research has shown the Food Dudes programme increases children's fruit and vegetable consumption at school, the evidence for the effectiveness in the home setting is more equivocal. The school environment is identified as a logical setting for targeting children's fruit and vegetable consumption however to produce sustainable changes in behaviour, it is equally important that interventions target consumption in the home setting. This study aimed to establish whether the Food Dudes intervention can influence home consumption of fruit and vegetables and the extent to which any changes in eating behaviour following the intervention were maintained in the long term.
Health Education Research, 2007
The purpose was to investigate the degree of implementation and appreciation of a comprehensive school-randomized fruit and vegetable intervention program and to what extent these factors were associated with changes in reported fruit and vegetable intake. The study was conducted among 10-to 13-year old children exposed to the intervention during the school year 2003-04 in Norway, Spain and the Netherlands. Children, parents and teachers completed questionnaires regarding (i) the implementation of the school curriculum, (ii) parental involvement, (iii) distribution of fruit and vegetables at school, (iv) children's appreciation of the project and (v) children's intake levels. Univariate analyses of covariance and multilevel multivariate regression analyses indicated that teacher-reported level of implementation of the school curriculum and schoolchildren's appreciation of the project were important determinants of changes in intake. The results point to the importance of optimal implementation of an attractive school curriculum.
Journal of School Health, 1998
This paper describes an intervention to increase high school students' fruit and vegetable consumption. Twelve schools were randomized to intervention or control conditions. The cohort (2,213 students; 56% females, 84% Caucasian) were followed from 9th to 12th grades. Interventions comprised a media campaign, classroom workshops, school meal modification, and parental support. Usual daily servings of fruit/vegetables increased 14% in the intervention compared to the control group (p > 0.001) the first three years. At follow-up, consumption within the control group also increased, resulting in no significant difference between groups. Intervention group knowledge scores and awareness indicators were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.0001). Gimme 5 provided a first model to show that dietary habits of high school students can be influenced by positive media messages relative to that age group, increased exposure to a variety of tasty products, and minimal classroom activity.
Journal of obesity, 2012
The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a six-months' nutrition program, delivered and taught by classroom teachers with in-service nutrition training, on the prevention of overweight and obesity among children in grades 1 to 4. In this randomized trial, four hundred and sixty four children from seven elementary schools were allocated to a nutrition educational program delivered by their own teachers. Intervened teachers had 12 sessions of three hours each with the researchers throughout six months, according to the topics nutrition and healthy eating, the importance of drinking water and healthy cooking activities. After each session, teachers were encouraged to develop activities in class focused on the learned topics. Sociodemographic, anthropometric,
Public Health Nutrition, 2018
ObjectiveThe main objective of the present study was to develop and evaluate a nutrition education curriculum to enhance young children’s dietary behaviours and nutrition and health knowledge.DesignA randomized controlled design was utilized. The intervention was designed to improve children’s nutrition and health knowledge and preferences for fruits and vegetables through classroom lessons and activities, including direct instruction and tastings (implemented twice per week for 6 weeks).SettingThe study took place in elementary schools in a Midwestern US state.SubjectsOne hundred and thirty-one 2nd grade children from ten classrooms (n 82 intervention, n 49 control) participated.ResultsMultiple regression analyses that adjusted se for clustering by classroom were used to test hypotheses. Children in the intervention condition demonstrated significantly higher scores on the nutrition and health survey (β=0·47, P=0·001) and showed greater preferences for fruits and vegetables at post...