Effect of Experiential Vegetable Education Program on Mediating Factors of Vegetable Consumption in Australian Primary School Students: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Schools provide a relevant and equitable environment to influence students towards increased vegetable consumption. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a Vegetable Education Resource To Increase Children’s Acceptance and Liking (VERTICAL) for Australian primary schools (curriculum aligned and based on a framework of food preference development and sensory experiential learning) on positively influencing factors predisposing children towards increased vegetable consumption. The secondary aim was to evaluate two levels of teacher training intensity on intervention effectiveness. A cluster-RCT amongst schools with three conditions was conducted: 1 = teaching VERTICAL preceded by online teacher training; 2 = as per 1 with additional face-to-face teacher training; 3 = Control. Pre-test, post-test and 3-month follow-up measures (knowledge, verbalization ability, vegetable acceptance, behavioural intentions, willing to taste, new vegetables consumed) were collected from students (n = 1639 from 25 schools in Sydney/Adelaide, Australia). Data were analyzed using mixed model analysis. No difference in intervention effectiveness was found between the two training methods. Compared to the Control, VERTICAL positively affected all outcome measures after intervention (p < 0.01) with knowledge sustained at 3-month follow-up (p < 0.001). In conclusion, VERTICAL was effective in achieving change amongst students in mediating factors known to be positively associated with vegetable consumption.

The taste of biodiversity: science and sensory education with different varieties of a vegetable to promote acceptance among primary school children

“…In fact, by asking them if different tomato varieties had similar or different flavours, we introduced the need to taste and classify each variety's flavour. Conditioning strategies, that is, associating the experience of the taste of a vegetable with additional positive experiences (such as a reward or positive mentions/messages about it) have shown to increase liking and acceptance for the exposed vegetable (10,(38)(39)(40) . The approach used in this study may be seen as a conditioning strategy because the classification of the tomato that was necessary to contribute to the group work was conditioned to tasting and this may have motivated those children who initially refused to try the tomato.…”

Teacher Evaluation of an Experiential Vegetable Education Program for Australian Primary Schools: Does Face-to-Face Training Add Value above Digital Training?

“…Eligible participants in this study were primary school teachers who implemented the vegetable education program Taste & Learn™ in their classroom as part of a cluster randomised controlled trial to measure behavioural outcomes on students [ 25 ]. The cluster-randomised controlled trial was undertaken in 25 Australian schools, comprising 19 intervention schools where teachers received a high- ( n = 10) or a low ( n = 9)-intensity version of teaching training prior to implementation of the program.…”

“…Schools were responsible for sourcing the vegetables themselves, and they were reimbursed upon the production of receipts. Further details of this program have been reported elsewhere [ 25 ].…”

“…A cluster randomised controlled trial (cluster RCT) amongst 25 schools involving 1639 students was subsequently undertaken to measure the effects on the behavioural outcomes [ 25 ]. This study used two intervention arms that differed in the level of intensities of the training of the teacher, low (provision with materials and online training) and high (additional face-to-face (F2F) training), therefore differing in cost structures (one-off vs. ongoing costs) and impacting the potential scalability of the intervention.…”

“…The results showed that the program increased the students’ knowledge, verbalization ability, vegetable acceptance, behavioural intentions, willingness to taste and consumption of new vegetables during the post-test, with their knowledge sustained at the 3-month follow-up. No difference was found between the level of intensity of training on the student outcomes [ 25 ].…”