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Engagement with the National Healthy Schools Programme is associated with higher fruit and vegetable consumption in primary school children

Engagement with the National Healthy Schools Programme is associated with higher fruit and vegetable consumption in primary school children
Engagement with the National Healthy Schools Programme is associated with higher fruit and vegetable consumption in primary school children
Background:? Improving children’s diets is currently a government focus. However, fruit and vegetable consumption, a key target, is still far below the government guidelines of five portions per day. The present study aimed to assess the impact of engagement with the National Healthy Schools Programme (NHSP) on fruit and vegetable consumption in a sample of primary school children.

Methods:? A sample of 511 children, aged 7–9 years, who were attending 10 randomly selected schools in Hampshire, completed the Day in the Life Questionnaire, a validated 24-h recall method of dietary assessment. Fruit and vegetable intake in pupils attending schools engaged with the NHSP was compared with that of pupils attending schools not engaged with the programme.

Results:? Children attending schools engaged with the NHSP ate a median of two (interquartile range, 0–8.0) portions of fruit and vegetables, compared to one portion (interquartile range, 0–8.0) consumed by pupils attending a school not engaged with the programme (P = 0.001). Gender was also a significant predictor of fruit and vegetable consumption, with girls being 1.68 times more likely to consume 2.5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables. After adjustment for free school meal eligibility (as a measure of socio-economic status) and gender, pupils attending schools engaged with NHSP were twice as likely to eat 2.5 portions of fruit and vegetables or more per day.

Conclusions:? Engagement with the NHSP may be an effective way of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in primary school children. Further evaluation of the programme is recommended to determine which aspects of the NHSP are successful in achieving this.
dietary influences, fruits and vegetables, school children
0952-3871
155-160
Keyte, J.
81501004-db15-4a72-9ae6-dfee22d9a59c
Harris, S.
19ea097b-df15-4f0f-be19-8ac42c190028
Margetts, B.M.
d415f4a1-d572-4ebc-be25-f54886cb4788
Robinson, S.M.
ba591c98-4380-456a-be8a-c452f992b69b
Baird, Janis
f4bf2039-6118-436f-ab69-df8b4d17f824
Keyte, J.
81501004-db15-4a72-9ae6-dfee22d9a59c
Harris, S.
19ea097b-df15-4f0f-be19-8ac42c190028
Margetts, B.M.
d415f4a1-d572-4ebc-be25-f54886cb4788
Robinson, S.M.
ba591c98-4380-456a-be8a-c452f992b69b
Baird, Janis
f4bf2039-6118-436f-ab69-df8b4d17f824

Keyte, J., Harris, S., Margetts, B.M., Robinson, S.M. and Baird, Janis (2012) Engagement with the National Healthy Schools Programme is associated with higher fruit and vegetable consumption in primary school children. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 25 (2), 155-160. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-277X.2011.01208.x). (PMID:22128770)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background:? Improving children’s diets is currently a government focus. However, fruit and vegetable consumption, a key target, is still far below the government guidelines of five portions per day. The present study aimed to assess the impact of engagement with the National Healthy Schools Programme (NHSP) on fruit and vegetable consumption in a sample of primary school children.

Methods:? A sample of 511 children, aged 7–9 years, who were attending 10 randomly selected schools in Hampshire, completed the Day in the Life Questionnaire, a validated 24-h recall method of dietary assessment. Fruit and vegetable intake in pupils attending schools engaged with the NHSP was compared with that of pupils attending schools not engaged with the programme.

Results:? Children attending schools engaged with the NHSP ate a median of two (interquartile range, 0–8.0) portions of fruit and vegetables, compared to one portion (interquartile range, 0–8.0) consumed by pupils attending a school not engaged with the programme (P = 0.001). Gender was also a significant predictor of fruit and vegetable consumption, with girls being 1.68 times more likely to consume 2.5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables. After adjustment for free school meal eligibility (as a measure of socio-economic status) and gender, pupils attending schools engaged with NHSP were twice as likely to eat 2.5 portions of fruit and vegetables or more per day.

Conclusions:? Engagement with the NHSP may be an effective way of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in primary school children. Further evaluation of the programme is recommended to determine which aspects of the NHSP are successful in achieving this.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 11 December 2011
Published date: April 2012
Keywords: dietary influences, fruits and vegetables, school children
Organisations: Human Development & Health

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 338227
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/338227
ISSN: 0952-3871
PURE UUID: ffd11d6c-ad4b-4629-b893-a24e086ce945
ORCID for S.M. Robinson: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1766-7269
ORCID for Janis Baird: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4039-4361

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Date deposited: 11 May 2012 14:30
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:14

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Contributors

Author: J. Keyte
Author: S. Harris
Author: B.M. Margetts
Author: S.M. Robinson ORCID iD
Author: Janis Baird ORCID iD

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