Abstract
Background: Schools are the major locations for implementing children’s dietary behavior related educational or interventional programs. Recently, there has been an increase in school-based nutrition interventions. The objective of this systematic review was to overview the evidence for the effectiveness of school-based nutrition intervention on fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods: PubMed was used to search for articles on school-based nutrition interventions that measured students’ fruit and vegetable consumption. Our search yielded 238 articles.The article was included if published in a peer-reviewed journal, written in English language,administered in the United States, and conducted among a population-based sample of children in Kindergarten through eighth grade. A total of 14 publications met the inclusion criteria. Results: Eight articles successfully showed the positive effect on increasing fruit and or vegetable consumption while the other six did not. Several factors, including (but not limited to) intervention duration, type of theory used, style of intervention leadership, and positively affecting antecedents of fruit and vegetable consumption were compared; however, no dominant factor was found to be shared among the studies with significant findings. Given that the criteria for selection were high, the lack of consistency between interventions and positive outcomes was surprising. Conclusion: With high levels of scrutiny and budget constraints on school nutrition, it is imperative that more research be conducted to identify the effective intervention components.
Highlights
Childhood obesity rates have continued to increase in the United States leading to an explosion of food-based obesity prevention interventions in US public schools over the last decade.[1,2,3,4]
Research suggests that effective intervention strategies at public school levels are required in order to control childhood obesity.[9,10]
The quality of the evidence is good and given the high level of stringency for inclusion in our study, our review deepens the understanding of school-based nutrition interventions
Summary
Childhood obesity rates have continued to increase in the United States leading to an explosion of food-based obesity prevention interventions in US public schools over the last decade.[1,2,3,4] Because the US government mandates school attendance for children and adolescents, schoolbased nutrition programs have become increasingly prevalent to prevent this trend.[5,6] One of the main goals of school-based nutrition programs is to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in school-aged children.[5,6,7,8,9] These programs and interventions are considered as the top priority for the US government.[7,8] As many national studies have confirmed, childhood obesity is a major issue with dire consequences on public health. Research suggests that effective intervention strategies at public school levels are required in order to control childhood obesity.[9,10] The key question that needs to be asked, is – how can researchers change behaviors in children? The objective of this systematic review was to overview the evidence for the effectiveness of school-based nutrition intervention on fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods: PubMed was used to search for articles on school-based nutrition interventions that measured students’ fruit and vegetable consumption. Results: Eight articles successfully showed the positive effect on increasing fruit and or vegetable consumption while the other six did not. Conclusion: With high levels of scrutiny and budget constraints on school nutrition, it is imperative that more research be conducted to identify the effective intervention components
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