Consumption and Healthy Lifestyles, Wageningen University and Research, 6700 EW Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Priority Research Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition (PRCPAN), The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
Nutrients. 2020 Oct 26;12(11):3280. doi: 10.3390/nu12113280.
A healthy diet is important for optimal child growth and development. School-based opportunities to encourage children to achieve healthy eating behaviors should be explored. Nutrition education programs can provide school children with classroom-based nutrition education and access to fruits and vegetables (FV). However, the effectiveness of specific program components implemented separately has not yet been comprehensively evaluated. The current study examined effectiveness of individual components of two programs targeting primary school children ( = 1460, = 37 schools) aged 7-12 years. Nutrition knowledge and FV consumption were measured using a student questionnaire, and presence of school food policies was measured in the teachers' questionnaire. A quasi-experimental design with three arms compared: (1) schools that implemented both programs: FV provision + education ( = 15), (2) schools that implemented the FV provision program only ( = 12), (3) schools that did not implement either program ( = 10). Outcomes were assessed pre-intervention (T0), during the intervention (T1), and 6 months post-intervention (T2). Results indicated a significant increase in nutrition knowledge for children attending schools that had participated in both programs, compared to control schools ( < 0.01), but no significant increase in FV intake. In schools without food policies, FV provision alone contributed to an increase in child FV intake ( < 0.05).
健康的饮食对于儿童的最佳生长和发育至关重要。应该探索以学校为基础的机会，鼓励儿童养成健康的饮食习惯。营养教育计划可以为学童提供课堂营养教育和获得水果和蔬菜（FV）的途径。然而，尚未全面评估单独实施的具体计划内容的有效性。本研究考察了针对 7-12 岁小学生（= 1460，= 37 所学校）的两个计划的各个组成部分的有效性。使用学生问卷测量营养知识和 FV 的摄入量，并在教师问卷中测量学校食品政策的存在。采用具有三个组的准实验设计进行比较：（1）实施了两个计划的学校：FV 供应+教育（= 15），（2）仅实施了 FV 供应计划的学校（= 12），（3）未实施任何计划的学校（= 10）。在干预前（T0），干预期间（T1）和干预后 6 个月（T2）评估结果。结果表明，与对照学校相比，参加了两个计划的学校的儿童营养知识显著增加（<0.01），但 FV 的摄入量没有显著增加。在没有食品政策的学校中，仅提供 FV 就有助于增加儿童的 FV 摄入量（<0.05）。
