141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

282864
Great taste, less waste: A communication campaign to improve the quality of foods brought from home to school

Wednesday, November 6, 2013 : 9:30 AM - 9:50 AM

Jeanne P. Goldberg, PhD, RD , John Hancock Research Center on Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity Prevention, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Susan Koch-Weser, ScD , Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Sara C. Folta, PhD , John Hancock Research Center on Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity Prevention, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Christina D. Economos, PhD , John Hancock Research Center on Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity Prevention, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Misha Eliasziw, PhD , Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Lindsay Peterson, MS, MEd , John Hancock Research Center on Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity Prevention, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Catherine M. Wright, MS , John Hancock Research Center on Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity Prevention, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Aviva Must, PhD , Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Introduction: Foods brought from home are of consistently poorer nutritional quality than foods served by school lunch programs in the US and other westernized countries. To address that problem, an intervention to improve foods from home, Great Taste, Less Waste (GTLW) capitalized on the natural synergy between healthy eating and eco-friendly behaviors. A randomized, controlled trial tested the hypothesis that this nutrition-eco campaign would improve quality of foods from home more than a nutrition-only campaign or no intervention. Methods: Both campaigns included a 22-lesson curriculum for children in grades 3 and 4, school-based activities, and parent materials. Campaign design, guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, aimed to increase fruits and vegetables and decrease sugar-sweetened beverages. Foods from home were measured at baseline and 7 months later using digital photography. Since no differences between the nutrition-only and the control groups were found, they were combined in further analyses. Multilevel log-binomial regression compared servings of fruit, vegetables and sugar-sweetened beverages between groups. Results: 590 children from 85 classrooms in 12 schools participated; 24% were non-White; 36% came from household incomes <$50,000. Children in the GTLW intervention were 28% more likely to bring fruits than the comparison group (P=0.001) and 69% more likely to bring vegetables (P=0.13). There was no effect on sugar-sweetened beverages (P=0.85). Discussion: Messages that include social responsibility are a promising approach to increasing healthy food consumption. Further research is needed to address the challenge of extending the effect to sugar-sweetened beverages.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Describe the advantages of pairing messages about nutrition with synergistic messages about social responsibility to change behavior in elementary school children. Describe a process of creating novel communication strategies to influence healthy eating behaviors. Explain the use of digital photography as a method for rapid dietary data collection.

Keywords: School-Based Programs, Nutrition

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked on large, NIH-funded projects that focus on child nutrition, communication and behavior change. I am principal investigator on the NIH-funded grant based on the proposed presentation. That project sought to improve the nutritional quality of foods that elementary school children bring from home to eat at school through a novel messaging strategy. More generally, I have had nearly 40 years experience in nutrition education and behavior change for a range of audiences.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.