1 Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California.
2 Interactive Media & Games Division, School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California.
Games Health J. 2018 Apr;7(2):127-135. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2017.0102. Epub 2018 Feb 2.
To examine the effect of the Virtual Sprouts intervention, an interactive multiplatform mobile gardening game, on dietary intake and psychosocial determinants of dietary behavior in minority youth.
In this quasi-experimental pilot intervention, 180 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students in Los Angeles Unified School District participated in a 3-week program that included three Virtual Sprouts gaming sessions, three in-school lessons, and three in-home activities, using a nutrition- and gardening-focused curriculum. Pre- and postintervention questionnaires were used to assess psychosocial determinants of dietary behavior, including knowledge about and self-efficacy to eat fruits and vegetables (FV). Data were collected on FV, whole grains, fiber, total sugar, added sugar, and energy from sugary beverages through the Block Kids Food Screener ("last week" version) for Ages 2-17. Repeated measures analysis of covariance models was used for continuous outcomes, controlling for age, sex, ethnicity, school, and free school lunch.
After the intervention, the intervention group (n = 116) compared with the control group (n = 64) had a significantly improved self-efficacy to eat FV score (+1.6% vs. -10.3%, P = 0.01), and an improved self-efficacy to cook FV score (+2.9% vs. -5.0%, P = 0.05). There were no significant differences in dietary intake or self-efficacy to garden scores between intervention and control groups.
The results from this 3-week pilot study suggest that an interactive mobile game with a nutrition- and gardening-focused curriculum can improve psychosocial determinants of dietary behavior in minority youth.
研究虚拟芽苗菜干预（一种互动多平台移动园艺游戏）对少数族裔青少年饮食摄入和饮食行为心理社会决定因素的影响。
在这项准实验性先导干预研究中，洛杉矶联合学区的 180 名三、四、五年级学生参与了一项为期 3 周的项目，该项目包括 3 次虚拟芽苗菜游戏、3 次校内课程和 3 次家庭活动，使用以营养和园艺为重点的课程。使用评估饮食行为心理社会决定因素的问卷，包括对水果和蔬菜的知识和自我效能感进行评估。通过《儿童食物筛查表》（适用于 2-17 岁）的“上周”版本收集有关水果、全谷物、纤维、总糖、添加糖和含糖饮料能量的数据。采用重复测量协方差模型分析连续结果，控制年龄、性别、种族、学校和免费校餐。
干预后，干预组（n=116）与对照组（n=64）相比，水果自我效能感评分显著提高（+1.6% vs. -10.3%，P=0.01），烹饪水果自我效能感评分也有所提高（+2.9% vs. -5.0%，P=0.05）。干预组和对照组在饮食摄入或园艺自我效能感评分方面无显著差异。
这项为期 3 周的先导研究结果表明，具有营养和园艺重点课程的互动移动游戏可以改善少数族裔青少年的饮食行为心理社会决定因素。
