Will students eat more fruits and vegetables if school policies include longer lunch periods or letting students play first? (632.4)

Abstract

Aim: Simple school policies that increase fruit and vegetable intake in children are needed. The study aim was to evaluate the relationship of duration of lunch and order of play and eating during the lunch period with fruit and vegetables (FV) intake. A secondary aim was to examine if differences existed in these relationships by student gender, ethnicity, language spoken at home, and school lunch source.Methods: A diary‐assisted 24‐hour recall was collected during the 2011‐12 school year from 3,463 4th‐5th graders attending 44 elementary schools in California. School lunch characteristics were attained from school staff and observation. The associations of play before eating and duration of lunch with FV intake were estimated using generalized estimation equations.Results: FV intake did not significantly differ by lunch period length. Overall, lunch FV intake was not significantly higher for students who had a play before versus after eating lunch schedule. Variables in the model showed significant interaction with play before eating, requiring separate effect estimates by gender, ethnicity, language spoken at home, and lunch source. When a significant effect was predicted, play before eating had a positive impact among students who brought lunch from home.Conclusions: Play before eating may help some elementary students to increase FV intake. Although these policies and other environmental school policies need further rigorous evaluation.Grant Funding Source: Supported by the Orfalea Foundation