Optimisation of the National School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Lds Inst Genetics Health & Therapeutics
Abstract
The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme is a public health intervention providing free fruit to English children for the first three years of school.
This scheme is important because some children have low intakes of fruit and vegetables which may increase their risk of developing cancer and cardiovascular disease later in life.
We are looking at the effects of this scheme on the diet of children from across England and drawn from different ethnic backgrounds and living in different socio-economic areas. We are measuring childhood obesity and body stores of important vitamins.
We already know the intake of fruit increases while children take part in the scheme but falls when they are no longer eligible for free fruit in year 3.
We are therefore investigating whether an intervention to develop a continued programme of activities to support eating fruit and vegetables by children after the end of the scheme will stop this decline and maintain fruit and vegetable intake in older children.
The intervention involves lessons for the classroom and practical activities to support growing, cooking and tasting food.
Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in young children may have important impacts on long-term chronic disease incidence rates
This scheme is important because some children have low intakes of fruit and vegetables which may increase their risk of developing cancer and cardiovascular disease later in life.
We are looking at the effects of this scheme on the diet of children from across England and drawn from different ethnic backgrounds and living in different socio-economic areas. We are measuring childhood obesity and body stores of important vitamins.
We already know the intake of fruit increases while children take part in the scheme but falls when they are no longer eligible for free fruit in year 3.
We are therefore investigating whether an intervention to develop a continued programme of activities to support eating fruit and vegetables by children after the end of the scheme will stop this decline and maintain fruit and vegetable intake in older children.
The intervention involves lessons for the classroom and practical activities to support growing, cooking and tasting food.
Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in young children may have important impacts on long-term chronic disease incidence rates
Technical Summary
The National School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme is an important public health intervention. Free fruit is provided from reception to school year 2.
The principal research questions to be addressed are:
?h Can a flexible multi-component intervention in schools support the maintenance of fruit consumption following removal of free school fruit for year 3 children?
?h What is the impact of the National School Fruit and Vegetable scheme in areas with low socio-economic and high ethnic populations?
?h What is the impact of the wider environment on children!
s fruit and vegetable consumption (spatial interaction modelling)?
This proposal will tackle two aspects of relevance to the effectiveness of the NSFVS.
1) A cross-sectional national sample of year 2 children (receiving free fruit) !V with emphasis on areas of low income and high ethnic diversity. Diet will be assessed using a CADET questionnaire; heights and weights measured and cheek cell samples taken from a subgroup for antioxidant measurements.
2) A multicomponent flexible intervention will be developed and piloted for delivery to children/parents/schools in year 3.
A subsample of schools from the cross-sectional study will be randomised to receive an intervention to support maintenance of fruit intake in year 3, other than through free school fruit.
When the children move from year 2 to year 3 half of these schools will continue as normal (ie. free school fruit is stopped) and half will receive fruit using locally appropriate strategies devised with schools and parents. Measurements will be repeated during year 4 (ie 18 months after first measurement).
The results of this trial will be used to inform policy concerning the NSFVS, school dinners and food at school in general, and in a wider context the diets of young children. In particular, it will show how increased fruit and vegetable consumption can be maintained. The first descriptive part of the study (non-trial) will improve our understanding of how school fruit affects the diet of children from a range of different ethnic and economic backgrounds in England.
The principal research questions to be addressed are:
?h Can a flexible multi-component intervention in schools support the maintenance of fruit consumption following removal of free school fruit for year 3 children?
?h What is the impact of the National School Fruit and Vegetable scheme in areas with low socio-economic and high ethnic populations?
?h What is the impact of the wider environment on children!
s fruit and vegetable consumption (spatial interaction modelling)?
This proposal will tackle two aspects of relevance to the effectiveness of the NSFVS.
1) A cross-sectional national sample of year 2 children (receiving free fruit) !V with emphasis on areas of low income and high ethnic diversity. Diet will be assessed using a CADET questionnaire; heights and weights measured and cheek cell samples taken from a subgroup for antioxidant measurements.
2) A multicomponent flexible intervention will be developed and piloted for delivery to children/parents/schools in year 3.
A subsample of schools from the cross-sectional study will be randomised to receive an intervention to support maintenance of fruit intake in year 3, other than through free school fruit.
When the children move from year 2 to year 3 half of these schools will continue as normal (ie. free school fruit is stopped) and half will receive fruit using locally appropriate strategies devised with schools and parents. Measurements will be repeated during year 4 (ie 18 months after first measurement).
The results of this trial will be used to inform policy concerning the NSFVS, school dinners and food at school in general, and in a wider context the diets of young children. In particular, it will show how increased fruit and vegetable consumption can be maintained. The first descriptive part of the study (non-trial) will improve our understanding of how school fruit affects the diet of children from a range of different ethnic and economic backgrounds in England.