Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Preschoolers

NCT05730530 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: SBS 5304
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 19
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to examine fruit and vegetable consumption in preschoolers following a nutrition education curriculum. The main questions it aims to answer is:

1. 1.Is this intervention consisting of nutrition education and taste-test activities able to improve fruit and vegetable consumption in preschoolers during their usual lunch meal?
2. 2.Is the improvement of fruit and vegetable consumption sustained for at least 6 weeks after completion of the intervention?

Conditions

Children, Only; Nutrition, Healthy

Keywords

Preschool; Fruits and vegetables; Nutrition education; Behavior change theory

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Fruit and vegetable intake post-intervention

  Fruits and vegetables consumed during a typical lunch meal, measured using plate-waste weighing method, which involves subtracting the grams of food leftover from the grams of food served to estimate the grams of food consumed. All weighing of the foods will be done in the Diet and Nutrition Lab before and after going to the childcare center. This will be measured on three consecutive days during each of the measurement weeks below.

  Change in fruit and vegetable intake from baseline (week 0) to post-intervention (week 7)

• Fruit and vegetable intake at follow-up

  Fruits and vegetables consumed during a typical lunch meal, measured using plate-waste weighing method, which involves subtracting the grams of food leftover from the grams of food served to estimate the grams of food consumed. All weighing of the foods will be done in the Diet and Nutrition Lab before and after going to the childcare center. This will be measured on three consecutive days during each of the measurement weeks below.

  Change in fruit and vegetable intake from baseline (week 0) to follow-up (week 14)

• Skin carotenoid levels post-intervention

  Children's fruit and vegetable intake will be confirmed using a measure of skin carotenoid levels. This will be measured using a VeggieMeter device, which utilizes non-invasive reflection spectroscopy to estimate the amount of dietary carotenoids deposited into the skin. Children will be asked to wash their hands and then place their right pointer finger on a small lens for approximately 15 seconds. This will be measured immediately following the 3 measured lunch meals at the 3 time points.

  Change in fruit and vegetable intake from baseline (week 0) to post-intervention (week 7)

• Skin carotenoid levels at follow-up

  Children's fruit and vegetable intake will be confirmed using a measure of skin carotenoid levels. This will be measured using a VeggieMeter device, which utilizes non-invasive reflection spectroscopy to estimate the amount of dietary carotenoids deposited into the skin. Children will be asked to wash their hands and then place their right pointer finger on a small lens for approximately 15 seconds. This will be measured immediately following the 3 measured lunch meals at the 3 time points.

  Change in fruit and vegetable intake from baseline (week 0) to follow-up (week 14)

Secondary Outcomes (16)

• Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, baseline

  Baseline (week 0)

• Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, post-intervention

  post-intervention (week 7)

• Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, follow-up

  follow-up (week 14)

• Physical activity levels, baseline

  Baseline (week 0)

• Physical activity levels, post-intervention

  Post-intervention (week 7)

Other Outcomes (2)

• Sociodemographic information

  Baseline (week 0)

• Child eating behavior

  Baseline (week 0)

Study Arms (2)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Classroom assigned to receive the 6-week long nutrition education curriculum

Behavioral: Nutrition education curriculum

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Classroom assigned to receive no intervention

Interventions

Nutrition education curriculum BEHAVIORAL

This intervention consists of a 6-week-long nutrition education curriculum aimed at improving fruit and vegetable acceptance and consumption. Sessions will occur within the classroom 3 times per week for 6 weeks. Each week, the sessions will consist of 2 days of teaching activities and 1 day of taste-test activities designed for children to guess various common fruits and vegetables, assemble recipes including 2-4 different fruits and vegetables, and then taste the foods. These activities will be conducted in a full-classroom group setting.

Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 3 Years - 5 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Typically-developing children with no food allergies and not taking medication

You may not qualify if:

• Food Allergies
• Taking medications
• Developmental delays

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Virginia: lead

Study Sites (1)

Westminster Child Care Center

Charlottesville, Virginia, 22903, United States

Location

Related Publications (12)

• Lioret S, Campbell KJ, McNaughton SA, Cameron AJ, Salmon J, Abbott G, Hesketh KD. Lifestyle Patterns Begin in Early Childhood, Persist and Are Socioeconomically Patterned, Confirming the Importance of Early Life Interventions. Nutrients. 2020 Mar 9;12(3):724. doi: 10.3390/nu12030724.

  PMID: 32182889 BACKGROUND

• Livingstone MB, Robson PJ. Measurement of dietary intake in children. Proc Nutr Soc. 2000 May;59(2):279-93. doi: 10.1017/s0029665100000318.

  PMID: 10946797 BACKGROUND

• Treiber FA, Leonard SB, Frank G, Musante L, Davis H, Strong WB, Levy M. Dietary assessment instruments for preschool children: reliability of parental responses to the 24-hour recall and a food frequency questionnaire. J Am Diet Assoc. 1990 Jun;90(6):814-20.

  PMID: 2345254 BACKGROUND

• Scarmo S, Henebery K, Peracchio H, Cartmel B, Lin H, Ermakov IV, Gellermann W, Bernstein PS, Duffy VB, Mayne ST. Skin carotenoid status measured by resonance Raman spectroscopy as a biomarker of fruit and vegetable intake in preschool children. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012 May;66(5):555-60. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2012.31. Epub 2012 Mar 21.

  PMID: 22434053 BACKGROUND

• Hodder RK, O'Brien KM, Stacey FG, Wyse RJ, Clinton-McHarg T, Tzelepis F, James EL, Bartlem KM, Nathan NK, Sutherland R, Robson E, Yoong SL, Wolfenden L. Interventions for increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in children aged five years and under. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 May 17;5(5):CD008552. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008552.pub5.

  PMID: 29770960 BACKGROUND

• Gripshover SJ, Markman EM. Teaching young children a theory of nutrition: conceptual change and the potential for increased vegetable consumption. Psychol Sci. 2013 Aug;24(8):1541-53. doi: 10.1177/0956797612474827. Epub 2013 Jun 26.

  PMID: 23804961 BACKGROUND

• Witt KE, Dunn C. Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among preschoolers: evaluation of color me healthy. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2012 Mar-Apr;44(2):107-13. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2011.01.002. Epub 2011 Sep 16.

  PMID: 21924957 BACKGROUND

• Cooke L. The importance of exposure for healthy eating in childhood: a review. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2007 Aug;20(4):294-301. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-277X.2007.00804.x.

  PMID: 17635306 BACKGROUND

• Singer MR, Moore LL, Garrahie EJ, Ellison RC. The tracking of nutrient intake in young children: the Framingham Children's Study. Am J Public Health. 1995 Dec;85(12):1673-7. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.12.1673.

  PMID: 7503343 BACKGROUND

• Wuhl E. Hypertension in childhood obesity. Acta Paediatr. 2019 Jan;108(1):37-43. doi: 10.1111/apa.14551. Epub 2018 Sep 19.

  PMID: 30144170 BACKGROUND

• Miguel-Berges ML, Zachari K, Santaliestra-Pasias AM, Mouratidou T, Androutsos O, Iotova V, Galcheva S, De Craemer M, Cardon G, Koletzko B, Kulaga Z, Manios Y, Moreno LA. Clustering of energy balance-related behaviours and parental education in European preschool children: the ToyBox study. Br J Nutr. 2017 Dec;118(12):1089-1096. doi: 10.1017/S0007114517003129. Epub 2017 Dec 4.

  PMID: 29198192 BACKGROUND

• Kranz S, Brauchla M, Campbell WW, Mattes RD, Schwichtenberg AJ. High-Protein and High-Dietary Fiber Breakfasts Result in Equal Feelings of Fullness and Better Diet Quality in Low-Income Preschoolers Compared with Their Usual Breakfast. J Nutr. 2017 Mar;147(3):445-452. doi: 10.3945/jn.116.234153. Epub 2017 Jan 11.

  PMID: 28077732 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Sibylle Kranz, PhD

  University of Virginia

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: Group-randomized trial with individual-level outcomes

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 1, 2023
• First Posted: February 16, 2023
• Study Start: February 14, 2023
• Primary Completion: July 30, 2023
• Study Completion: August 1, 2023
• Last Updated: April 3, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: This data is collected as part of a doctoral dissertation. Data will become available following dissertation defense and publication of results.
• Access Criteria: Depends on the journal criteria

Locations

US (1)