Dataset Information

School-based gardening, cooking and nutrition intervention increased vegetable intake but did not reduce BMI: Texas sprouts - a cluster randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although school garden programs have been shown to improve dietary behaviors, there has not been a cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted to examine the effects of school garden programs on obesity or other health outcomes. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of a one-year school-based gardening, nutrition, and cooking intervention (called Texas Sprouts) on dietary intake, obesity outcomes, and blood pressure in elementary school children.

Methods

This study was a school-based cluster RCT with 16 elementary schools that were randomly assigned to either the Texas Sprouts intervention (n?=?8 schools) or to control (delayed intervention, n?=?8 schools). The intervention was one school year long (9?months) and consisted of: a) Garden Leadership Committee formation; b) a 0.25-acre outdoor teaching garden; c) 18 student gardening, nutrition, and cooking lessons taught by trained educators throughout the school-year; and d) nine monthly parent lessons. The delayed intervention was implemented the following academic year and received the same protocol as the intervention arm. Child outcomes measured were anthropometrics (i.e., BMI parameters, waist circumference, and body fat percentage via bioelectrical impedance), blood pressure, and dietary intake (i.e., vegetable, fruit, and sugar sweetened beverages) via survey. Data were analyzed with complete cases and with imputations at random. Generalized weighted linear mixed models were used to test the intervention effects and to account for clustering effect of sampling by school.

Results

A total of 3135 children were enrolled in the study (intervention n?=?1412, 45%). Average age was 9.2?years, 64% Hispanic, 47% male, and 69% eligible for free and reduced lunch. The intervention compared to control resulted in increased vegetable intake (+?0.48 vs. +?0.04 frequency/day, p?=?0.02). There were no effects of the intervention compared to control on fruit intake, sugar sweetened beverages, any of the obesity measures or blood pressure.

Conclusion

While this school-based gardening, nutrition, and cooking program did not reduce obesity markers or blood pressure, it did result in increased vegetable intake. It is possible that a longer and more sustained effect of increased vegetable intake is needed to lead to reductions in obesity markers and blood pressure.

Clinical trials number

NCT02668744 .

SUBMITTER: Davis JN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7825209 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

School-based gardening, cooking and nutrition intervention increased vegetable intake but did not reduce BMI: Texas sprouts - a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Davis Jaimie N JN Pérez Adriana A Asigbee Fiona M FM Landry Matthew J MJ Vandyousefi Sarvenaz S Ghaddar Reem R Hoover Amy A Jeans Matthew M Nikah Katie K Fischer Brian B Pont Stephen J SJ Richards Daphne D Hoelscher Deanna M DM Van Den Berg Alexandra E AE

The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity 20210123 1

<h4>Background</h4>Although school garden programs have been shown to improve dietary behaviors, there has not been a cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted to examine the effects of school garden programs on obesity or other health outcomes. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of a one-year school-based gardening, nutrition, and cooking intervention (called Texas Sprouts) on dietary intake, obesity outcomes, and blood pressure in elementary school children.<h4>Method ...[more]

PMID: 33485354

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundNumerous school-based interventions have used cooking and gardening approaches to improve dietary intake; however, research is limited on the mediation effect of dietary psychosocial factors on the link between the intervention and increased vegetable intake, particularly in children from low-income and racial and ethnic minority US families.ObjectiveOur aim was to examine the effects of the Texas Sprouts intervention on dietary psychosocial factors related to intake of vegetables, and whether these psychosocial factors mediate the link between the intervention and increased intake of vegetables in schoolchildren from low-income and racial and ethnic minority US families.DesignThis was an analysis of data on secondary outcomes from the Texas Sprouts program, a 1-year school-based gardening, nutrition, and cooking cluster randomized controlled trial consisting of elementary schools that were randomly assigned to either the Texas Sprouts intervention or to control.Participants/settingParticipants were 2,414 third- through fifth-grade students from low-income and racial and ethnic minority US families from 16 schools (8 intervention and 8 control) in Austin, TX.InterventionThe intervention group received eighteen 60-minute gardening, nutrition, and cooking student lessons in an outdoor teaching garden and 9 monthly parent lessons throughout the academic year.Main outcome measuresChild psychosocial and dietary measures were collected at baseline and post intervention via validated questionnaires.Statistical analyses performedGeneralized linear mixed models assessed the intervention effects on dietary psychosocial factors. Mediation analyses examined whether these psychosocial factors mediated the link between the intervention and increased child vegetable intake.ResultsChildren in Texas Sprouts, compared with controls, showed significant increases in the mean scores of gardening attitudes, cooking self-efficacy, gardening self-efficacy, nutrition and gardening knowledge, and preferences for fruit and vegetables (all, P < .001). Each of the dietary psychosocial factors mediated the association between the Texas Sprouts intervention and child vegetable intake.ConclusionsBesides targeting dietary behaviors, future school-based interventions should also focus on understanding the mechanisms through which teaching children to cook and garden influence dietary psychosocial factors as mediators of change in healthy eating behaviors.

Dataset Information

School-based gardening, cooking and nutrition intervention increased vegetable intake but did not reduce BMI: Texas sprouts - a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Clinical trials number

Publications

School-based gardening, cooking and nutrition intervention increased vegetable intake but did not reduce BMI: Texas sprouts - a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets