The Impact of Smarter Lunchroom Interventions on Vegetable and Fruit Selection and Consumption in Middle School Cafeterias

Abstract

ObjectiveThe current research examines the effectiveness of environmental changes in school lunchrooms on the selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables.Theory, Prior Research, RationalePilot studies found that environmental changes (attractive names for fruits and vegetables, attractive and colorful bowls for fruits, offering multiple vegetables) impact the consumption and selection of fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias. The prior research, however, concentrated on one change at a time. In this study we made multiple changes in cafeterias.Design, Setting, Participants, and InterventionSix treatment schools were instructed to make a number of Smarter Lunchrooms changes focused on fruits, vegetables, and low-fat white milk to their cafeterias, and the six control schools were instructed to make no changes to their regular cafeteria setup.Outcome Measures and AnalysisTray waste was measured by researchers using the quarter-waste method. Using tray waste data, selection is analyzed as the number of items chosen for each category (fruits, vegetables and white milk) and consumption is analyzed by subtracting the amount wasted from the amount selected.ResultsWhile fruit selection decreased by 7.7% (p<0.001), there was no statistical difference in vegetable selection. The intervention, on the other hand, had a negative and a significant impact on both fruits and vegetable waste (p<0.01).Conclusions and ImplicationsThe findings identify direct and indirect effects of such environmental experiments. These findings also shed light on the effectiveness and sustainability of these lunchroom changes, and the combination of additional intervention components that could result in a greater increase in selection and consumption of healthy items such as fruits, vegetables, and milk.FundingNone ObjectiveThe current research examines the effectiveness of environmental changes in school lunchrooms on the selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables. The current research examines the effectiveness of environmental changes in school lunchrooms on the selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Theory, Prior Research, RationalePilot studies found that environmental changes (attractive names for fruits and vegetables, attractive and colorful bowls for fruits, offering multiple vegetables) impact the consumption and selection of fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias. The prior research, however, concentrated on one change at a time. In this study we made multiple changes in cafeterias. Pilot studies found that environmental changes (attractive names for fruits and vegetables, attractive and colorful bowls for fruits, offering multiple vegetables) impact the consumption and selection of fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias. The prior research, however, concentrated on one change at a time. In this study we made multiple changes in cafeterias. Design, Setting, Participants, and InterventionSix treatment schools were instructed to make a number of Smarter Lunchrooms changes focused on fruits, vegetables, and low-fat white milk to their cafeterias, and the six control schools were instructed to make no changes to their regular cafeteria setup. Six treatment schools were instructed to make a number of Smarter Lunchrooms changes focused on fruits, vegetables, and low-fat white milk to their cafeterias, and the six control schools were instructed to make no changes to their regular cafeteria setup. Outcome Measures and AnalysisTray waste was measured by researchers using the quarter-waste method. Using tray waste data, selection is analyzed as the number of items chosen for each category (fruits, vegetables and white milk) and consumption is analyzed by subtracting the amount wasted from the amount selected. Tray waste was measured by researchers using the quarter-waste method. Using tray waste data, selection is analyzed as the number of items chosen for each category (fruits, vegetables and white milk) and consumption is analyzed by subtracting the amount wasted from the amount selected. ResultsWhile fruit selection decreased by 7.7% (p<0.001), there was no statistical difference in vegetable selection. The intervention, on the other hand, had a negative and a significant impact on both fruits and vegetable waste (p<0.01). While fruit selection decreased by 7.7% (p<0.001), there was no statistical difference in vegetable selection. The intervention, on the other hand, had a negative and a significant impact on both fruits and vegetable waste (p<0.01). Conclusions and ImplicationsThe findings identify direct and indirect effects of such environmental experiments. These findings also shed light on the effectiveness and sustainability of these lunchroom changes, and the combination of additional intervention components that could result in a greater increase in selection and consumption of healthy items such as fruits, vegetables, and milk. The findings identify direct and indirect effects of such environmental experiments. These findings also shed light on the effectiveness and sustainability of these lunchroom changes, and the combination of additional intervention components that could result in a greater increase in selection and consumption of healthy items such as fruits, vegetables, and milk.