The effect of education plus access on perceived fruit and vegetable consumption in a rural African American community intervention

Abstract

African Americans have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease partly due to low fruit and vegetable consumption. This article reports the results of an intervention to provide nutrition education and access to fruits and vegetables through community gardens to change dietary behaviors among African Americans in rural Missouri. Cross-sectional surveys evaluated the intervention effect on blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and perceived fruit and vegetable consumption in this quasi-experimental study with a comparison group. Hypertension (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.38-0.71) and BMI (OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.52-1.02) were lower in the intervention county at mid-intervention. Participation in nutrition education (OR = 2.67, 95% CI: 1.63-4.40) and access to fruits and vegetables from a community garden (OR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.20-3.15) were independently associated with perceived fruit and vegetable consumption. The strongest effect on perceived fruit and vegetable consumption occurred with high participation in nutrition education and access to community gardens (OR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.24-3.81). Those with access but without education had a reduced likelihood of consuming recommended servings of fruits and vegetables (OR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.34-0.95). Education plus access interventions may be best at increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables in a rural African American population.

Improving Cardiovascular Disease Knowledge among Rural Participants: The Results of a Cluster Randomized Trial

“…For example, the outcomes of a nutritional intervention study included improvements on weight and blood pressure parameters, increased produce consumption, and reduced intake of overly processed foods with a high sodium content [ 23 ]. A different intervention showed that an educational intervention and access to produce in a community garden had greater improvements in produce consumption than access to the community garden alone [ 24 ]. Educational interventions can empower participants to better care for themselves and make healthier lifestyle choices that are associated with decreased risk reduction [ 11 ].…”

Cross cultural “behavioural diagnosis” examining the uptake of the MIND diet, using the COM-B model to inform an intervention.

“…This finding is supported in Smith et al [73], that found farmers markets to have inconvenient times and low frequency. Barnridge et al [74] found that participants reported eating the recommended daily fruit and vegetables when receiving nutrition education and access to a garden. However, those who received no nutrition education but access to the garden, did not report eating the recommended fruit and vegetable, suggesting that it is knowledge not access to the garden that was related to an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption.…”

Does Education Lead to a Healthier Diet? Evidence From a Natural Experiment

“…For example, there have been several studies that investigated the effects of nutrition education on food consumption, and an extensive review of the literature showed that interventions are more effective when few other choices are available in places of purchase (Seymour et al, 2004). Another study, which used a dataset of African Americans in rural Missouri found that educational interventions are effective (Barnidge et al, 2015).…”