Small school-based effectiveness trials increase vegetable and fruit consumption among youth

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Promotion
• Nutrition Education

Background:

• School-based interventions are a key strategy for promoting healthy eating habits in children.
• State health agencies have initiated 5 A Day programs to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions in real-world settings is crucial for widespread implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of state health agency-initiated 5 A Day school-based interventions.
• To compare the findings with larger-scale efficacy trials.
• To explore the feasibility and potential for translation of these interventions into practice.

Main Methods:

• Review of seven state health agency-initiated 5 A Day school-based intervention projects.
• Analysis of reported results and effect sizes for fruit and vegetable intake.
• Assessment of intervention feasibility and research-practice partnerships.

Main Results:

• Four out of seven projects demonstrated significant positive results.
• The average effect size was 0.4 servings of fruits and vegetables.
• Findings were comparable to more costly, large-scale efficacy trials.

Conclusions:

• School-based 5 A Day interventions are feasible and effective in real-world settings.
• These trials support the translation of health promotion research into practice.
• Further research is needed to standardize dietary assessment methods for dissemination studies.