An Assessment of a 13-week Teaching Gardens Intervention on Healthy Behavior Outcomes in 4th and 5th grade students at Crestwood Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nevada

Nearly 13 million children and adolescents are considered to be obese in the United States, with children enrolled in Clark County School District showing elevated overweight and obese weight statuses compared to national averages. Carrying an excessive amount of weight can lead children to experience a multitude of complications with their physical and mental health as well as increase their risk of developing various chronic diseases. The American Heart Association\u27s Las Vegas Teaching Gardens program implemented a school-based garden pilot study to target environmental causes of obesity in 4th and 5th grade students at Crestwood Elementary School. The objective of this study was to assess the success of the program to increase fruit and vegetable intake, increase physical activity, decrease sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and increase healthy behavior knowledge in the children through participation in garden activities and healthy family nights. A total of 105 students were assessed on their health behavior changes through the analysis of pre- and post-surveys. Data from the pre-test were compared to the post-test data using Wilcoxon match pair tests, McNemar\u27s chi square tests and t-tests. The results showed a significant decrease in children\u27s sugar-sweetened beverage consumption after the intervention (P=0.045) and a significant increase in children\u27s reported participation in physical activity (