Background: Despite a demonstrated association between increased fruit and vegetable consumption and reduced chronic disease risk, only 20% of children consume the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Objectives: 1) to examine if rated preference for the target vegetables was a reasonable proxy for predicting vegetable intake; 2) to measure the short-term impact of an educational intervention on lunchtime vegetable consumption. Methods: 106 children in 13 Head Start classrooms participated in a pre-post intervention design. At baseline, each child ranked 3 target vegetables (carrots, broccoli, spinach) and corn, crackers, rice, and cheese from most to least liked according to the Birch et al (1991) protocol. At baseline and post-intervention, lunchtime tasting and intake of a full portion of target vegetables was determined for each classroom by the plate waste method. Intervention: Children participated in a 5-week intervention ("Adventures of Captain 5 A Day") to increase vegetable knowledge and consumption. Results: Children were twice as likely to taste than to consume a full vegetable portion. In Chi Square analysis, broccoli and spinach liking were associated with both tasting and intake of vegetables (p<.07). Average intake of vegetables per classroom showed improvement from pre to post-intervention; with a Wilcoxon-Matched Pairs test, significant increases were observed for spinach (p<.05) and carrots (p<.005). Summary: Preference tests may aid in evaluating nutrition education programs for children by predicting which vegetables are more acceptable. The findings suggest that the Connecticut "Adventures of Captain 5 A Day" educational intervention resulted in increased intakes of target vegetables. See www.state.ct.us/dph
Learning Objectives: Following the "Adventures of Captain 5 A Day" educational intervention, children will significantly improve lunchtime vegetable consumption.
Keywords: Nutrition, Head Start
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Connecticut Department of Public Health
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.