School Nutrition Programs Can Work

School programs to get kids to eat their fruits and vegetables do make a difference, according to researchers.

Their review of several past studies found that "multicomponent" school programs to promote fruits and vegetables--including classroom activities and cafeteria changes such as simply making more produce available--do appear to work.

"You can get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables at school," Dr. Simone A. French, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health. "And the multicomponent programs seem to work best."

French, who is with the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleague Dr. Gloria Stables looked at five studies of multicomponent school programs that sought specifically to boost kids' intake of fruits and vegetables--as opposed to intake of healthier foods in general.

In three of these studies, the programs got fourth- and fifth-graders to eat more fruits and vegetables, while the other two studies showed mixed results.

In addition, programs that targeted the cafeteria "environment" alone--by making more produce available, putting lower price tags on fruits and vegetables, and having cafeteria staff encourage kids to eat the healthier fare--also appeared effective.

One study that looked at the effects of produce price cuts in two high schools found that sales of fresh fruit and baby carrots went up 400 percent and 200 percent, respectively.

The findings are published in the December issue of the journal Preventive Medicine.

According to French, most of these programs have been tried in elementary and middle schools. High schoolers might be more of a challenge to reach because they have more of their own money to spend, and because the schools offer a wider variety of "a la carte" choices beyond the traditional cafeteria meal.

To get more students to eat fruits and vegetables, French said, schools need to not only increase the amount of produce they offer, but also limit the availability of "more attractive" foods like pizza, soda, french fries and sweets.

According to French, lowering prices on fruits and vegetables--an effective strategy in some research--might be sustainable for schools if the prices of high-fat, calorie-laden foods were raised.

SOURCE: Preventive Medicine, December 2003.

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