P90 - Wellness in the Schools (WITS): Evaluating a Program that Promotes Healthy School Lunch and Active Recess

Abstract

Background (Background, Rationale, Prior Research, and/or Theory): A positive school lunch and recess experience promotes healthy behaviors. Objective: To evaluate the two-year impact of WITS programming on school lunch consumption, physical activity levels, and pro-social behaviors at recess. Study Design, Setting, Participants, Intervention: Quasi-experimental, matched-control study in 14 NYC public elementary schools with second and third graders. WITS programming provides scratch-cooked, less processed school lunch and organized activities at recess by placing trained chefs and coaches in the school. Outcome Measures and Analysis: School lunch consumption, as well as physical activity and pro-social behaviors at outdoor and indoor recess, were measured using standardized tools and protocols. Data were collected at three time points (no baseline): Time 0 (early intervention), Time 1 (one school year post intervention) and Time 2 (two school years post intervention) and compared using Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance. Results: For school lunch consumption, there were early intervention effects. Students in the WITS schools ate more vegetables and fruit at Time 0 than students in control schools (.27 cups vs. .18 cups, P < .05), with the same differences found at Time 1 and Time 2. However, students in WITS schools ate less entrée (42% of portion versus 46%, P < .05) and drank less milk (29% of portion versus 38%, P < .05) at Time 0, with these differences also remaining through Time 2. Outdoor recess had no difference in physical activity levels. Indoor recess had a higher percentage of WITS students vigorously active (46% vs. 3% at Time 1, P < .05; 29% vs. 4% at Time 2, P < .05; and was not measured at Time 0). Pro-social behavior scores were higher in WITS schools at all time points for outdoor and indoor recess (P < .05). Conclusions and Implications: WITS programming changed school lunch consumption with both positive and negative results. WITS is a promising school-wide intervention. Further research is needed to better understand how students could eat more of all school lunch components and how to get students more physically active during outdoor recess. Funding: Wellness in the Schools.