A Food-Based Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics Learning Program May Improve Preschool...

Background/Objectives: Early childhood represents a sensitive period for developing positive dietary preferences and important school readiness skills. However, few evidence-based programs leverage opportunities to support children's development in both areas. Our study aimed to assess the preliminary effects of multi-level, teacher-led More PEAS Please! on Head Start children's (3-5 years old) science knowledge, development of academic language, fruit-and-vegetable (FV) liking, and dietary quality. Methods: In this pilot study, we used a repeated-measure research design to assess child-level outcomes. Trained teachers implemented 16 food-based science-learning activities. We assessed child outcomes using validated measures of science knowledge, academic language, FV liking, and dietary quality (Veggie Meter^®). We used linear mixed models to examine changes from the baseline to post intervention. Fixed effects included age, sex, and race/ethnicity, while the center was treated as a random effect. Results: A total of 273 children were enrolled in the study. The children were mostly male (51.6%), Black/African American (82.1%) and, on average, 3.94 (SD = 0.70) years old. The children demonstrated significant improvements in science knowledge (T1 M = -0.01, SD = 0.82; T4 M = 0.33, SD = 0.90; 95% CI [0.17, 0.50]; p < 0.001) and vocabulary (T1 M = 14.4, SD = 4.5; T4 M = 16.7, SD = 5.3; 95% CI [1.4, 3.3]; p < 0.001). The children's dietary quality improved from the baseline, but the changes were not significant. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the intervention may support improvements in science knowledge and academic vocabulary among preschool-aged children. We theorize a longer intervention with additional FV exposures may be needed to observe significant dietary changes. Future research should evaluate program effects with a comparison group.