The impact of an innovative web-based school nutrition intervention to increase fruits and vegetables and milk and alternatives in adolescents: a clustered randomized trial

Abstract

BackgroundThe increase in overweight and obesity in adolescents and its health-related consequences highlight the need to develop strategies, which could help them adopt healthy eating habits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of an innovative web-based school nutrition intervention (Team Nutriathlon) aimed at promoting the consumption of vegetables and fruit (V/F) and milk and alternatives (M/A) in high school students and to identify facilitators and/or barriers influencing its success.MethodsTen classes of first and second year secondary students (grades 7 and 8) from the Québec City region were randomized into two groups (control n = 89 and intervention n = 193). Participants in the intervention (Team Nutriathlon) were to increase their consumption of V/F and M/A using an innovative web-based platform, developed for this study, over 6 weeks. The control group followed the regular school curriculum. The number of servings of V/F and M/A consumed by students per day was compared between the two groups before, during, immediately after and 10 weeks after the intervention using a web-based platform. Main outcome measures included V/F and M/A servings and facilitators and/or barriers of program success. Repeated measures linear fixed effects models were used to assess the impact of Team Nutriathlon on V/F and M/A consumption. A P-value of <0.05 was considered significant.ResultsStudents in the intervention reported a significant increase of 3 servings and 1.8 servings per day of V/F and M/A, respectively, compared to the control group (P < 0.05); however, this was only observed in the short-term. Some factors contributing to the success of Team Nutriathlon included the team aspect of the program, use of the technology and recording results outside of classroom hours.ConclusionTeam Nutriathlon represents an innovative web-based nutrition program which positively impacts V/F and M/A consumption among high school students. Using web-based or technological platforms may help youth adopt healthy eating habits that will have implications later in adulthood; however, further studies are needed to determine their long-term effects.Trial registration NCT03117374 (retrospectively registered).

Evaluation of the Computer-Based Intervention Program Stayingfit Brazil to Promote Healthy Eating Habits: The Results from a School Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

“…In turn, no differences in the observed anthropometric parameters were observed, after adjustment of the estimates by confounding factors. These results are consistent other universal prevention programs interventions which have also failed to find changes in BMI and other adiposity measurements in adolescents [15,16].…”

“…By contrast, previous interventions have shown the positive effects of web-based on fruit, vegetable, and fat consumption [14,16,18,20,60] as well as anthropometric markers [20]. Mauriello et al (2010) evaluated of the Health in Motion CTI performed among American adolescents and observed a greater consumption of fruit and vegetables 2 months (3.86 vs. 3.0), 6 months (3.55 vs. 2.73), and 12 months (3.67 vs. 2.97) after the intervention ( p < 0.001) [14].…”

“…Mauriello et al (2010) evaluated of the Health in Motion CTI performed among American adolescents and observed a greater consumption of fruit and vegetables 2 months (3.86 vs. 3.0), 6 months (3.55 vs. 2.73), and 12 months (3.67 vs. 2.97) after the intervention ( p < 0.001) [14]. Chamberland et al (2017) [16] demonstrated a higher consumption of daily servings of fruits and vegetables in the intervention group via the Team Nutriathlon CTI for Canadian adolescents compared with a control group ( p ≤ 0.05). Haerens et al (2006) developed a CTI using a self-explanatory CD-ROM and indicated a significantly higher reduction in fat intake in the intervention group (−20 g/day) compared with the control group (−10 g/day, p < 0.05).…”

“…Different studies have been conducted to investigate the evidence regarding the efficacy of nutritional interventions to promote healthy eating habits and lifestyles using interactive media such as the Internet [13]. Changes in anthropometric parameters (e.g., weight reduction and body mass index [BMI]), increased consumption of fruits and vegetables [14,15,16], reduced fat consumption [17,18,19], and increased dairy product consumption [16] have been observed in studies of adolescents (in the intervention group) conducted by [20] and [21]. Despite these potential benefits, the results have been heterogeneous [22,23,24].…”

A Escola Como Campo De Atuação No Fortalecimento Da Alimentação Saudável: Uma Revisão Integrativa

“…As metodologias dos estudos citados anteriormente como cozinhar com crianças, orientações nutricionais com pais, crianças e donos das lanchonetes, cultivo de hortas escolares, melhorar a palatabilidade dos alimentos através de um chefe de cozinha e intervenção nutricional na web, são as abordagens que obtiveram os resultados mais significativos (CUNNINGHAM-SABO;LOHSE, 2013;RATNER et al, 2013;BERNARDON et al, 2014;COHEN et al, 2015;CHAMBERLAND et al, 2017). Referindo ao estudo Chamberland et al Batista et al (2017) encontraram um alto percentual de crianças com excesso de peso e associado a isso percebeuse uma oferta significativa de alimentos processados e ultraprocessados nos lanches escolares.…”