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The Harvest of the Month (HOTM) program successfully promotes vegetable selection and consumption among first graders from low‐income schools
Author(s) -
Chen Qiong,
Gerson Amanda,
Goto Keiko,
Wolff Cindy,
BiancoSimeral Stephanie,
Hansen Garth,
Frigaard Martin,
Armstrong Ben
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.843.4
Subject(s) - consumption (sociology) , wine tasting , intervention (counseling) , selection (genetic algorithm) , digital photography , photography , psychology , environmental health , medicine , computer science , food science , economics , biology , sociology , social science , management , artificial intelligence , psychiatry , wine
Objective To evaluate the impact of a multi‐component intervention on fruit and vegetable selection and consumption among low‐income public school first grade students. Methods Using a quasi‐experimental design, the HOTM program was implemented over a seven month period. The study was conducted with 117 intervention students from three schools and 90 control students from two schools. Intervention students were exposed to 14 classroom cooking demonstrations, tasting activities, and received fruit and vegetable themed educational materials. Students’ vegetable selection and consumption was measured using a digital photography method before and after the intervention period. Photographs of food trays were taken before and after lunch on four consecutive days, and analyzed for consumption patterns. Generalized estimating equations were used to account for variance within clusters (school/classroom). Results Intervention students selected and consumed significantly more vegetables than control students. The vegetables selected were also of a greater variety compared to the control. No significant differences were found in fruit consumption. Conclusions The HOTM program has a positive impact on vegetable selection and consumption. The results of this study document the accuracy of the digital photography method as an easy to use, effective tool for assessing food consumption.