The effectiveness of a school-based nutrition intervention on children’s fruit, vegetables, and dairy product intake

BACKGROUND : Most Canadian children do not meet daily recommendations for consumption of vegetables and fruits (V/F) and dairy products (DP). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of Team Nutriathlon on V/F and DP consumption of children. METHODS : Participants were 404 children from grades 5 and 6 (intervention group [IG] N = 242, control group [CG] N = 162). Teams of children were guided to increase their consumption and variety of V/F and DP over an 8-week period. Daily servings of V/F and DP were compared between groups at 4 time points: baseline (week 0), during (week 6), immediately after (week 9 or 10), and a follow-up 10 weeks after (week 20) the intervention. RESULTS : During and after the program and at follow-up, children in the IG consumed more servings of V/F and DP compared to the CG (group × time, p .05). CONCLUSIONS : Team Nutriathlon is an innovative school-based nutrition program that can help to increase the V/F and DP consumption of children