Department of Landscape Architecture (DoLA), Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University, 2904 15th St., Lubbock, TX 79409, USA.
Institute of Statistical Research and Training (ISRT), University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Nov 7;21(11):1485. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21111485.
Hands-on gardening is linked with healthy eating behaviors, increased outdoor activities, and overall well-being, all contributing factors to preventing obesity. Although these positive associations are widely established for adults and school-aged children, little evidence can be found on how such relationships may extend to early childhood, especially in the preschool years (3-5 years). One recent study conducted in North Carolina (NC) showed that participating in hands-on gardening significantly increased preschoolers' accurate identification of fruits and vegetables (FV) and FV consumption compared to children who did not participate in hands-on gardening, but no association was found between participation in hands-on gardening and the children's liking (eating preferences) of FV. FV identification and liking during the early years may lead to lifelong healthy eating behaviors and preferences, making hands-on gardening a critical health intervention in early childhood environments, especially in childcare centers where a majority of the 13 million children in the United States between the ages of 0 and 5 spend most of their waking hours. This research aimed to investigate how hands-on gardening in childcare centers may impact preschoolers' (3-5 years old) FV knowledge (identification) and liking in a semi-arid climate zone with a high concentration of Hispanic families by conducting experimental research with eight childcare centers and one hundred forty-nine children ( = 149) in Lubbock County, located in West Texas. The findings showed changes in average liking scores are generally positive in the experimental group of children who participated in hands-on gardening (compared to the control non-gardening group), implying an improved liking. The findings indicate that the benefits of hands-on gardening in childcare centers for enhancing healthy eating preferences are evident even in a semi-arid climate zone, where high temperatures and limited rainfall present significant gardening challenges. This research underscores the importance of integrating hands-on gardening into childcare programs, highlighting its potential as an effective obesity prevention strategy not only within the US but also in other regions with similar environmental constraints.
亲身体验园艺与健康饮食行为、增加户外活动以及整体幸福感相关，所有这些因素都有助于预防肥胖。尽管这些积极的关联在成年人和学龄儿童中得到广泛证实，但关于这些关系如何扩展到幼儿期，特别是在学前阶段（3-5 岁），几乎没有证据。最近在北卡罗来纳州进行的一项研究表明，与没有参与亲身体验园艺的儿童相比，参与亲身体验园艺可显著提高学龄前儿童准确识别水果和蔬菜（FV）的能力，并增加他们对 FV 的消费，但参与亲身体验园艺与儿童对 FV 的喜爱（饮食偏好）之间没有关联。在幼儿时期对 FV 的识别和喜爱可能会导致终身健康的饮食行为和偏好，因此亲身体验园艺是幼儿环境中一项至关重要的健康干预措施，特别是在托儿中心，美国 1300 万 0 至 5 岁儿童中有大多数在托儿中心度过大部分清醒时间。本研究旨在调查亲身体验园艺在托儿中心如何影响半干旱气候带（该地区有大量西班牙裔家庭）中 3-5 岁学龄前儿童的 FV 知识（识别）和喜爱，研究人员在德克萨斯州西部的拉伯克县进行了一项实验研究，该研究涉及 8 家托儿中心和 149 名儿童（n=149）。研究结果表明，参与亲身体验园艺的儿童实验组的平均喜爱分数普遍呈正增长（与不参与园艺的对照组相比），这意味着他们的喜爱程度有所提高。研究结果表明，即使在半干旱气候带，亲身体验园艺在托儿中心对增强健康饮食偏好的益处也是明显的，因为高温和有限的降雨量给园艺带来了重大挑战。本研究强调了将亲身体验园艺纳入托儿计划的重要性，突显了其作为一种有效的肥胖预防策略的潜力，不仅在美国，而且在其他具有类似环境限制的地区也具有潜力。
