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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Objective: There is evidence that fruit consumption among school children is below the
recommended levels. This study aims to examine the effects of a dietary education
intervention program me, held by teachers previously trained in nutrition, on the consumption
of fruit as a dessert at lunch and dinner, among children 6-12 years old.
Study design: This is a randomized trial with the schools as the unit of randomisation.
Methods: A total of 464 children (239 female, 6-12years) from seven elementary schools
participated in this cluster randomized controlled trial. Three schools were allocated to the
intervention and four to the control group. For the intervention schools, we delivered
professional development training to school teachers (12 sessions of 3 h each). The training
provided information about nutrition, healthy eating, the importance of drinking water
and healthy cooking activities. After each session, teachers were encouraged to develop
classroom activities focused on the learned topics. Sociodemographic was assessed at
baseline and anthropometric, dietary intake and physical activity assessments were performed
at baseline and at the end of the intervention. Dietary intake was evaluated by a 24-
h dietary recall and fruit consumption as a dessert was gathered at lunch and dinner.
Results: Intervened children reported a significant higher intake in the consumption of fruit
compared to the controlled children at lunch (P = 0.001) and at dinner (P = 0.012), after
adjusting for confounders.
Conclusions: Our study provides further support for the success of intervention programmes
aimed at improving the consumption of fruit as a dessert in children.
Description
Keywords
Children Intervention programme Fruit for dessert Public health