The Effectiveness of A School‐Based Nutrition Intervention on Children's Fruit, Vegetables, and Dairy Product Intake

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.