Culturally Appropriate Nutrition Lessons Increased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in American Indian Children

This quasi-experimental pilot study assessed the effectiveness of a six-lesson; culturally adapted nutrition curriculum-on ·fruit and vegetable consumption. Thirty-three students from six classes in three rural elementary schools-were assigned to an intervention group (n=12) and a control group (n=21) dictated by the time required to travel from one school to another and with the physical education class schedule. The intervention and control group were assessed at baseline and post education for fruit and vegetable intake using the Block food frequency questionnaire and a twelve-item nutrition knowledge questionnaire. The change in intake from baseline to completion between the groups was significantly different for total fruit and vegetable (2.7±1.0 serving per day, p≤0.01) and total vegetable (2.2±0.3 servings per day, p≤0.0001) but not for total fruit. At completion there were a significantly greater number of students who scored ≥75% on the-knowledge questionnaire (100% in the intervention group, 14% in the control group, p≤ 0.0001). This study indicates that culturally appropriate educational intervention is a potential tool to increase fruit and vegetable intake and nutrition knowledge in American Indian children