The current recommendations suggest children should eat 400 grams or five portions of fruit and vegetables a day( 1 ). This study uses a specially developed questionnaire for use with primary school children and explores how aspects of the home environment and parental attitudes and values affect children's fruit and vegetable intake.
This study includes baseline measurements from children attending 51 primary schools in London. These children are taking part in two randomized controlled trials to evaluate a school gardening programme. Baseline data collection consisted of a previously validated 24-hour food ticklist, the Child And Diet Evaluation Tool (CADET)( Reference Cade, Frear and Greenwood 2 ). The CADET uses age and gender specific food portion sizes to calculate food and nutrient intake. Children's intake at school was recorded in the CADET tool by trained fieldworkers and intake at home was recorded by parents/carers. A DVD with instructions for completing the questionnaire was sent home for parents/carers and children to watch.
The total sample consists of 2389 children with a mean age of 8.3 years old (sd: +/−0.6). Overall, the CADET tool found that children consumed on average 293 g fruit and vegetables (sd: +/−245). Clustered (by school) multilevel regression models with total fruit and vegetables as the primary outcome were conducted to explore how the home environment affects children's fruit and vegetable intake (please see the table below). Children of families who “always” ate a family meal together at a table, had on average, 130 g more fruit and vegetables, than those families who never ate a meal together. Children whose parents' always cut up fruit and vegetables for them, consumed on average, half a portion more fruit and vegetables compared to children with parents who sometimes or never cut up their fruit and vegetables.
(F&V=fruit and vegetables) Adjusted for sex, ethnicity and Index of Multiple Depreciation Score.
The results show that the CADET tool can be used to estimate fruit and vegetable intake in young children. Our data identified that family evening meal behaviour plays an important role in children's fruit and vegetable intake. Cutting up fruit or vegetables for children facilitates their intake. Eating a family meal together regularly could potentially increase a child's fruit and vegetable intake by one portion or more.
This work was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIRH) 2009.
