Promoting school lunch fruit and vegetable intake through role modeling: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES

Child fruit and vegetable consumption is a critical component of adult chronic disease prevention, yet fruit and vegetable intake remains low among elementary school children in the United States. This pilot study tested a role modeling intervention designed to promote fruit and vegetable consumption in a U.S elementary school cafeteria setting.

METHODS

This one-year, repeated cross-sectional study used digital photographs to assess fruit and vegetable waste at baseline (n = 566 trays) and follow-up (n = 231 trays) of kindergarten through fifth grade students in one elementary school. Differences in waste were assessed through Mann-Whitney statistical tests. Feedback on intervention acceptability was provided by the intervention team during implementation.

RESULTS

The proportion of students consuming all of their selected fruits and vegetables increased by 11.1% and 8.7% respectively (p < 0.01). There was a significant decrease in the proportion of students not consuming any of their selected fruit (16.0%, p < 0.001). Staff and students provided positive reports of intervention acceptance.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Findings from this pilot study indicate that role modeling in a school cafeteria setting may be a promising health promotion strategy and provide groundwork for future research in the development of school cafeteria role modeling interventions. Further research is needed to assess intervention efficacy and acceptability at a larger scale.