BACKGROUND: Packing fruit, vegetables, and whole grains in preschool children's sack lunches is a powerful way for parents to teach their children eating habits and food preferences to support a lifetime of good health. A multilevel intervention pilot-tested in childcare settings increased servings of vegetables and whole grains, but the lunches still fell short of the intervention goals. PURPOSE: Secondary analyses were conducted to identify specific behavior changes underlying achieved increases in servings of vegetables and whole grains. METHODS: Food records from direct observation of 769 parent-packed lunches were investigated to unbundle and measure multiple aspects of lunch packing behavior. Changes from baseline to six week follow-up for the intervention (N=81) and comparison (N=51) parent-child dyads were evaluated in multilevel modeling. RESULTS: The increase for whole grains was explained by more parents packing whole grain items whereas increase for vegetables was explained by parents packing vegetables on more days. DISCUSSION: Tailored options were identified for further strategies to increase vegetables and whole grains in parent-packed sack lunches. TRANSLATION TO HEALTH EDUCATION PRACTICE: Linking achieved outcomes to specific behaviors can be an aid in assessing needs and designing interventions to maximize the chances for success.
BACKGROUND: Packing fruit, vegetables, and whole grains in preschool children's sack lunches is a powerful way for parents to teach their children eating habits and food preferences to support a lifetime of good health. A multilevel intervention pilot-tested in childcare settings increased servings of vegetables and whole grains, but the lunches still fell short of the intervention goals. PURPOSE: Secondary analyses were conducted to identify specific behavior changes underlying achieved increases in servings of vegetables and whole grains. METHODS: Food records from direct observation of 769 parent-packed lunches were investigated to unbundle and measure multiple aspects of lunch packing behavior. Changes from baseline to six week follow-up for the intervention (N=81) and comparison (N=51) parent-child dyads were evaluated in multilevel modeling. RESULTS: The increase for whole grains was explained by more parents packing whole grain items whereas increase for vegetables was explained by parents packing vegetables on more days. DISCUSSION: Tailored options were identified for further strategies to increase vegetables and whole grains in parent-packed sack lunches. TRANSLATION TO HEALTH EDUCATION PRACTICE: Linking achieved outcomes to specific behaviors can be an aid in assessing needs and designing interventions to maximize the chances for success.
Authors: Sara J Sweitzer; Margaret E Briley; Cindy Roberts-Gray; Deanna M Hoelscher; Deanna M Staskel; Fawaz D Almansour Journal: J Nutr Educ Behav Date: 2011 May-Jun Impact factor: 3.045
Authors: Sara J Sweitzer; Margaret E Briley; Cindy Roberts-Gray; Deanna M Hoelscher; Ronald B Harrist; Deanna M Staskel; Fawaz D Almansour Journal: J Am Diet Assoc Date: 2010-07
Authors: Sara J Sweitzer; Nalini Ranjit; Eric E Calloway; Deanna M Hoelscher; Fawaz Almansor; Margaret E Briley; Cynthia R Roberts-Gray Journal: Behav Med Date: 2014-10-10 Impact factor: 3.104
Authors: Rebecca K Hodder; Kate M O'Brien; Fiona G Stacey; Flora Tzelepis; Rebecca J Wyse; Kate M Bartlem; Rachel Sutherland; Erica L James; Courtney Barnes; Luke Wolfenden Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2019-11-07
Authors: Rebecca K Hodder; Fiona G Stacey; Kate M O'Brien; Rebecca J Wyse; Tara Clinton-McHarg; Flora Tzelepis; Erica L James; Kate M Bartlem; Nicole K Nathan; Rachel Sutherland; Emma Robson; Sze Lin Yoong; Luke Wolfenden Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2018-01-25
Authors: Rebecca K Hodder; Kate M O'Brien; Fiona G Stacey; Rebecca J Wyse; Tara Clinton-McHarg; Flora Tzelepis; Erica L James; Kate M Bartlem; Nicole K Nathan; Rachel Sutherland; Emma Robson; Sze Lin Yoong; Luke Wolfenden Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2018-05-17
Authors: Cindy Roberts-Gray; Margaret E Briley; Nalini Ranjit; Courtney E Byrd-Williams; Sara J Sweitzer; Shreela V Sharma; Maria Romo Palafox; Deanna M Hoelscher Journal: Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act Date: 2016-01-08 Impact factor: 6.457