Does the school fruit and vegetable scheme improve children's diet? A non-randomised controlled trial

Ransley, Joan K; Greenwood, Darren C.; Cade, Janet; Blenkinsop, Sarah; Schagen, Ian; Teeman, D; Scott, Emma; White, G; Schagen, Sandie

doi:10.1136/jech.2006.052696

Cited by 84 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Sodium levels were high as has been shown in many dietary surveys of children (4,22) . Large regular intakes of savoury snacks contribute to these high intakes of sodium.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

“…Power calculations suggested that a sample of 2200 children would give approximately 90 % power to detect a difference of 0?33 portions of fruit per day based on a comparison of mean fruit intake in schools with a high proportion of children eligible for free school meals v. those with a low eligible proportion. Results from our initial evaluation of the SFVS found a 68 % response from pupils completing the CADET food diary (4) . To allow for this loss to follow-up, 130 schools would be recruited with an estimated total of 3250 children available.…”

Section: Sampling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several evaluations of the SFVS have shown an increased intake of fruit rather than vegetables while children participate in the scheme, but children's intake falls when they are no longer eligible (4)(5)(6) . In schools without the SFVS children's intake of fruit and vegetables falls as they progress from Reception (age 4-5 years) through to Year 2 (age 6-7 years) (7) .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does nutrition education in primary schools make a difference to children’s fruit and vegetable consumption?

Ransley

Taylor

Radwan

et al. 2010

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To explore whether initiatives to promote fruit and vegetables in primary schools are associated with changes in children's diet. Design: Cross-sectional dietary survey. Main outcome measures were intakes of fruit, vegetables and key nutrients; and a score for initiatives promoting fruit and vegetables in school. Setting: One hundred and twenty-nine English primary schools. Subjects: Year 2 children (aged 6-7 years, n 2530). Results: In schools running a gardening club, children ate more vegetables, 120 (95 % CI 111, 129) g/d, compared with those that did not, 99?3 (95 % CI 89?9, 109) g/d; and where parents were actively involved in school initiatives to promote fruit and vegetables, children's intake of vegetables was higher, 117 (95 % CI 107, 128) g/d, compared with those where parents were not involved, 105 (95 % CI 96?2, 114) g/d. In schools that achieved a high total score (derived from five key types of initiatives to promote fruit and vegetables in school) children ate more vegetables, 123 (95 % CI 114, 132) g/d, compared with those that did not, 97?7 (95 % CI 88?7, 107) g/d. Conclusions: Gardening, parental involvement and other activities promoting fruit and vegetables to children in school may be associated with increased intake of vegetables but not fruit. These effects were independent of deprivation status and ethnicity.

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“…Sodium levels were high as has been shown in many dietary surveys of children (4,22) . Large regular intakes of savoury snacks contribute to these high intakes of sodium.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

Section: Sampling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Does nutrition education in primary schools make a difference to children’s fruit and vegetable consumption?

Ransley

Taylor

Radwan

et al. 2010

Public Health Nutr.

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“…School programmes for increased F&V consumption may include one or several components, including, for example, specific F&V projects in food and health subjects, parental involvement, school cafeteria interventions and actual provision of F&V to the pupils, either free or at a subsidized price (3,(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16) . Experiences from this last type of intervention -actual provision of F&V to the pupils -have generally been positive, although the evidence on whether it leads to sustained increases in F&V intake 2-3 years after the intervention period is both scarce and mixed (3,(8)(9)(10)(11) .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Experiences from this last type of intervention -actual provision of F&V to the pupils -have generally been positive, although the evidence on whether it leads to sustained increases in F&V intake 2-3 years after the intervention period is both scarce and mixed (3,(8)(9)(10)(11) .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating free school fruit: results from a natural experiment in Norway with representative data

Øvrum¹,

Bere

2013

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To assess impacts of the nationwide Norwegian School Fruit Scheme (NSFS) using nationally representative data. Design: The NSFS is organized such that primary-school children (grades 1-7) are randomly assigned to one of three school fruit arrangements: (i) the child receives one free fruit or vegetable per day; (ii) the child is given the option to subscribe to one fruit or vegetable per day at a subsidized price; and (iii) the child attends a school that has no school fruit arrangement. Setting: Data from an Internet survey are used to compare child and parental fruit and vegetable intakes across the three NSFS groups focusing mainly on groups (i) and (iii). The analysis was conducted using multivariate regression techniques. Subjects: Parents of primary-school children (n 1423) who report on behalf of themselves and their children. Results: Children who receive free school fruit eat on average 0?36 more fruit portions daily -or 25?0 % more fruits -than children who attend schools with no fruit arrangement (P , 0?001). Moreover, parents of children who receive free school fruit eat on average 0?19 more fruit portions daily -or 12?5 % more fruitsthan parents of children who attend schools with no fruit arrangement (P 5 0?040). No significant associations were found between the NSFS and the vegetable intakes of children and their parents.

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Interventions for increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in children aged 5 years and under

Wolfenden¹,

Wyse²,

Britton

et al. 2012

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

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Background Insufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables in childhood increases the risk of future chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease. Objectives To assess the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and associated adverse events of interventions designed to increase the consumption of fruit and/or vegetables amongst children aged five years and under. Search methods The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2010, MEDLINE (1950 to 2010 April week 4), EMBASE (1947 to 2010 week 18), CINAHL (up to 12 May 2010), PsycINFO (up to 12 May 2010) and Proquest Dissertations and Theses (up to February 2011) were searched to identify eligible trials, as well as electronic trial registers (also up to February 2011). The reference lists of included trials were reviewed and handsearches of three international nutrition journals were also performed. Authors of all included trials were contacted in order to identify further potentially relevant trials. Selection criteria We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), including cluster-randomised controlled trials, of any intervention primarily targeting fruit and/or vegetable consumption among children aged five years and under and incorporating a biochemical or dietary assessment of fruit and/or vegetable consumption. Two review authors independently screened the titles and abstracts of identified papers. A third review author with expertise in review methodology resolved any disagreements regarding study eligibility. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. A third reviewer resolved disagreements between review authors. Fixed-effect models were used to perform meta-analysis for the primary review outcomes where a sufficient number of trials with suitable data and homogeneity were identified. Main results Five trials, with 13 trial arms and 3967 participants were included in the review. Two trials examined the impact of specific feeding practices (e.g. repeated food exposure) in increasing child intake of a target vegetable. Two trials assessed the effectiveness of home visiting programs implemented in disadvantaged communities and one trial investigated the effect of a preschool-based intervention in increasing child fruit and vegetable intake. Risk of bias of included studies was low although three of the five trials were judged to be at high risk of performance bias. Meta-analysis of two trials examining repeated food exposure versus a no intervention comparison found no significant difference in target vegetable consumption in the short term (mean difference (MD) 1.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) −2.78 to 5.52). Coupling repeated food exposure with a tangible non-food or social reward, was effective in increasing targeted vegetable consumption in the short term based on one trial. Home visiting programs provided to disadvantaged groups did not significantly increase overall fruit intake in the short term (sta...

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Does the school fruit and vegetable scheme improve children's diet? A non-randomised controlled trial

Cited by 84 publications

References 6 publications

Does nutrition education in primary schools make a difference to children’s fruit and vegetable consumption?

Does nutrition education in primary schools make a difference to children’s fruit and vegetable consumption?

Evaluating free school fruit: results from a natural experiment in Norway with representative data

Interventions for increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in children aged 5 years and under

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