Impact assessment of an intervention on the consumption of fruits and vegetables by students and teachers

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of an intervention that promoted the consumption of fruits and vegetables on the intake of these products by students and teachers in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil. METHODS: This is a one-group pretest-posttest study of students and teachers from elementary public schools in Rio de Janeiro. The intervention included a training course for promoting healthy eating; distribution of educational materials; and holding of a one-day health fair. We assessed the activities that had been carried out, teachers' habitual fruits and vegetables intake, students' fruits and vegetables intake at school, and intervention-related issues. RESULTS: Before the intervention, 65.1% of the students consumed the school lunch and most (>79.4%) accepted and consumed the fruits and vegetables served. Most teachers (>75.0%) consumed fruits and other vegetables regularly, but only 36.4% consumed leaf vegetables regularly. The intervention was implemented only moderately (52.7%) but was well accepted by the teachers. The students of schools that implemented the intervention more extensively showed better acceptance of vegetables (p=0.009). Teachers' fruits and vegetables intake did not change. CONCLUSION: Students' fruits and vegetables intake changed modestly. This study contributes to the design of intervention studies for Brazilian schools because it coordinated the National School Food Program with educational activities.