Premium
Project ReFresh: Testing the Efficacy of a School‐Based Classroom and Cafeteria Intervention in Elementary School Children
Author(s) -
Song HeeJung,
Grutzmacher Stephanie,
Munger Ash L.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/josh.12404
Subject(s) - cafeteria , intervention (counseling) , preference , medicine , nutrition education , psychology , environmental health , medical education , gerontology , nursing , mathematics , statistics , pathology
BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a school‐based nutrition program using a cafeteria environment intervention and classroom nutrition education on self‐reported fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, self‐efficacy to select FV, and preference for healthy foods. METHODS Using quasi‐experimental pre‐post design with 3 study conditions, a total of 665 fourth‐ and fifth‐grade students participated in the study. The comprehensive intervention included a behavioral economics cafeteria intervention and weekly classroom nutrition education for 1 academic year. The intervention was designed and delivered by the extension system. RESULTS The comprehensive group showed significant improvement in some indicators including eating vegetables for lunch (p = .007), number of days eating vegetables (p < .001) and fruits (p < .001) in the last week, and self‐efficacy in preparing FV at home (p = .034) compared to the control and cafeteria groups. Food preference of some food items, including oatmeal (p = .036 for cafeteria group, p < .001 for comprehensive group), whole grain noodles (p = .011 for comprehensive group), and vegetables (p = .003 for comprehensive group), significantly improved in the cafeteria and/or comprehensive group. CONCLUSIONS Classroom nutrition education combined with cafeteria improvement has the potential to improve diet‐related behavior of elementary school children. Also, collaborative partnership between schools and extension can enhance program sustainability.