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Exposure to Multiple Components of a Garden-Based Intervention for Middle School Students Increases Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

2012; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 13; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1177/1524839910390357

1552-6372

Alexandra Evans, Nalini Ranjit, Ronda Rutledge, José Eriberto Cifuentes Medina, Rose Jennings, Andrew W. Smiley, Melissa H. Stigler, Deanna M. Hoelscher,

Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet

Objectives. (1) To measure the effects of different levels of exposure to a multiple-component garden-based intervention on middle school students’ fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and related variables and (2) to determine the separate effects of each of the intervention components on F&V consumption. Design. Unequal treatment–control posttest only. Setting. Five middle schools in ethnically diverse communities. Participants. Two hundred and forty-six adolescents (59% Hispanic; 70% low-income). Intervention. The Sprouting Healthy Kids intervention consists of six components: (1) in-class lessons, (2) after-school gardening program, (3) farm-to-school, (4) farmers’ visits to schools, (5) taste testing, (6) field trips to farms. Outcome measures. F&V consumption; motivation for eating F&V; self-efficacy for eating F&V; F&V preference; preference for unhealthy foods; knowledge. Analysis. Linear regression models controlling for gender, ethnicity/race, and income. Results. Compared with students who were exposed to less than two intervention components, students who were exposed to two or more components scored significantly higher on F&V intake, self-efficacy, and knowledge and lower on preference for unhealthy foods ( p < .05). The farmers’ visits, taste testing, and cafeteria components had the largest effect sizes but were not significant. Conclusions and implications. Interventions targeting adolescent F&V behavior change should include multiple components such as farmers’ visits to the school and taste testing.