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This practice has been Archived and is no longer maintained.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.

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
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/...
Target Audience
Children

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Related Content for: 5-A-Day Power Plus

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.