Garden-Based Integrated Intervention for Improving Children’s Eating Behavior for Vegetables

Abstract

This study was conducted to develop and verify the effects of a garden-based integrated intervention for improving children’s eating behavior for vegetables. A pre-post-test experimental design was employed. The participants were 202 elementary school students (average age: 11.6 ± 1.5 years). The garden-based integrated intervention program was conducted during regular school hours for a total of 12 weeks. The program, based on a mediator model for improving children’s eating behavior, included gardening, nutritional education, and cooking activities utilizing harvests. In order to examine effects of the program, the mediating factors related to children’s eating behavior were evaluated using pre-post questionnaires. As a result of the program, dietary self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, gardening knowledge, nutrition knowledge, vegetable preference, and vegetable consumption were significantly increased, and food neophobia was significantly decreased. In addition, there were positive correlations between most mediating factors. Thus, the garden-based integrated intervention developed in this study was effective in improving children’s eating behavior for vegetables.

Nutrition Education Intervention Increases Fish Consumption among School Children in Indonesia: Results from Behavioral Based Randomized Control Trial

“…Our study was aligned with a randomized control trial based on TBP construct in 86 children by using 14 sessions of 60 min nutrition education was successfully increase children’s fruit and vegetable intake by first increasing their attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control [ 30 ]. Furthermore, Kim and Park [ 29 ] also explained in their study that garden-based integrated with social cognitive theory elements as one of the behavioral change strategies successfully improved children’s eating behavior for vegetables; which strengthen our results that both TPB and RBP intervention were needed to improve children’s behavior towards fish consumption.…”

“…Meanwhile, access to RBP adds to hands-on or experiential learning for students. This study added to the growing evidence that school-based nutrition education (NE) programs could lead to moderate increases in fish consumption among children [ 19 , 28 , 29 ]. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior construct, the behavior is strongly influenced by intention, which together is influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control [ 15 ].…”

Relationship Between School Gardening and Self-Efficacy Towards Weekly Fruit & Vegetable Intake

“…Self-efficacy is the confidence an individual has for behavioral change to achieve a desired outcome and it is an important variable in the study of behavioral changes [24]. According to socio-ecological model that underpinned our study, selfefficacy and self-confidence are key individual intrapersonal attributes at micro level as a valid determinant of fruit and intake by children which in turn influence health behaviors [25]. Seon-Ok Kim & Sin-Ae Park [25] also established that those children with high dietary self-efficacy for fruit and vegetable identification skills and exposure are more likely to consume fruits and vegetables more frequently than their counterparts without exposure to gardening activities.…”

“…According to socio-ecological model that underpinned our study, selfefficacy and self-confidence are key individual intrapersonal attributes at micro level as a valid determinant of fruit and intake by children which in turn influence health behaviors [25]. Seon-Ok Kim & Sin-Ae Park [25] also established that those children with high dietary self-efficacy for fruit and vegetable identification skills and exposure are more likely to consume fruits and vegetables more frequently than their counterparts without exposure to gardening activities. This has also been earlier reported in studies by [26,27] in their case-control study when they established that the interventional group in the schools which served fruits and vegetables as part of the school menu was more confident than the control group and had higher weekly intake of fruits and vegetables.…”

Students’ scientific attitude during the Implementation of innovative green garden-based education

“…Plants for consumption must support students' nutrition, for example vegetables and fruit. Student involvement in school garden activities can increase students' willingness to taste vegetables, increase students' appreciation of vegetable flavor (Morgan et al, 2017;Triador, Farmer, Maximova, Willows, & Kootenay, 2015), increase the variety of vegetables consumed by students (Leuven, Rutenfrans, Dolfing, & Leuven, 2018), and increase the amount of vegetables consumed (Kim & Park, 2020;Soga, Gaston, & Yamaura, 2016) The green garden-based education model emphasizes the active participation of students in planning, manufacturing, and maintaining gardens. The garden contains various components of living things (plants and animals) and nonliving-things (soil, organic matter, and water).…”