Date of Publication

1-24-2012

Abstract

Introduction: Evidence shows that consumption of fruits and vegetables has health benefits, yet children across the country consume less than levels recommended by the USDA. Breifel et. al. showed that children aged 5-18 consume up to half of their daily nourishment in the school setting. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) aims to ensure access to nutritious food for school aged children. The Burlington School Food Project aims to provide nutritious and appealing meals to all students which meet the NSLP guidelines. Observations demonstrate that although the food is available children do not always take advantage of the healthy options provided. Studies have shown that where food is eaten as well as how food is marketed impacts the choices children make on what they consume.[iv],[v] A recent study showed that intervention coupled with food-based education was successful in improving eating habits. Our goal was to improve the food choices made by 5th graders eating lunch at school through a game-based intervention. We hypothesized that by presenting fruits and vegetable in a fun and dynamic manner, in conjunction with education and role-modeling, we could increase the amount and variety of fruits and vegetables consumed by students at lunch.

Advisor(s)

Sarah Heusner, Burlington School Food Service

Robert Luby, MD, University of Vermont College of Medicine

Caroline Homan, City Market

Agency

City Market

Subjects

Early and Middle Childhood, Educational and Community-Based Programs, Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Nutrition and Weight Status

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License

The Effects of Game Based Nutrition Intervention on 5th Graders School Lunch Choices
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