5-A-Day Power Plus
An Evidence-Based Practice
This practice has been Archived and is no longer maintained.
Description
Researchers implemented the 5-a-Day Power Plus intervention in 20 St. Paul, MN, elementary schools to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among fourth and fifth graders. The eight-week curriculum includes 16 biweekly classroom lessons and is available for download on the National Cancer Institute's Research-Tested Intervention Programs website.
Each lesson lasts 45 minutes and includes both skill-building and problem-solving activities. In addition to classroom lessons, participating students are given opportunities to prepare and sample healthy snacks. Food service staff at the intervention schools in St. Paul also attended a two-hour training session on the program and learned methods of encouraging students to eat more fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, the school cafeterias increased the variety of fruits and vegetables on offer and publicized the new offerings with posters and displays.
Each lesson lasts 45 minutes and includes both skill-building and problem-solving activities. In addition to classroom lessons, participating students are given opportunities to prepare and sample healthy snacks. Food service staff at the intervention schools in St. Paul also attended a two-hour training session on the program and learned methods of encouraging students to eat more fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, the school cafeterias increased the variety of fruits and vegetables on offer and publicized the new offerings with posters and displays.
Goal / Mission
To increase fruit and vegetable consumption among children using a multi-component approach.
Results / Accomplishments
Female students at the intervention schools consumed significantly greater (p<0.05) quantities of fruits and vegetables than their counterparts at control schools. Through 24-hour diet recalls, students at the intervention schools reported eating significantly more servings of fruit, consuming significantly more calcium, and consuming a significantly lower percentage of daily calories from fat, in comparison to students at control schools. On health behavior questionnaires, intervention school students reported asking for and eating significantly more servings of fruits and vegetables every day than control school students.
About this Promising Practice
Organization(s)
Minnesota Department of Health; University of Minnesota, School of Public Health; National Cancer Institute
Primary Contact
Cheryl L. Perry, Ph.D.
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health
1300 South Second Street, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55454
612-624-4188
perry@epi.umn.edu
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health
1300 South Second Street, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55454
612-624-4188
perry@epi.umn.edu
Topics
Health / Physical Activity
Organization(s)
Minnesota Department of Health; University of Minnesota, School of Public Health; National Cancer Institute
Source
Child Trends
Date of publication
1998
Date of implementation
1995
Location
St. Paul, MN
For more details
http://rtips.cancer.gov/rtips/programDetails.do?pr...
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/88/4/...
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/88/4/...
Target Audience
Children