The effects of a nutrition education curriculum on improving young children's fruit and vegetable preferences and nutrition and health knowledge.

Abstract

The main objective of the present study was to develop and evaluate a nutrition education curriculum to enhance young children's dietary behaviours and nutrition and health knowledge. A randomized controlled design was utilized. The intervention was designed to improve children's nutrition and health knowledge and preferences for fruits and vegetables through classroom lessons and activities, including direct instruction and tastings (implemented twice per week for 6 weeks). The study took place in elementary schools in a Midwestern US state. One hundred and thirty-one 2nd grade children from ten classrooms (n 82 intervention, n 49 control) participated. Multiple regression analyses that adjusted se for clustering by classroom were used to test hypotheses. Children in the intervention condition demonstrated significantly higher scores on the nutrition and health survey (β=0·47, P=0·001) and showed greater preferences for fruits and vegetables at post-test than the control group (β=0·19, P=0·003). Findings suggest that a short, 6-week intervention that aligns with educational standards has the ability to significantly enhance children's outcomes and thus may be a more feasible option for teachers to incorporate into their classrooms than what is currently available.