Clinical trial NCT02522559: Using Herbs and Spices to Increase Children's Acceptance and Intake of Vegetables in School Lunches
Official title: Using Herbs and Spices to Increase Children's Acceptance and Intake of Vegetables in School Lunches
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Pediatric Obesity
Lead sponsor: Penn State University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: McCormick Science Institute
First posted: 2015-08-13
Enrollment: 110
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 11
Maximum age (years): 19
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: Herbs and spices offer one potential solution to the recent decline in children taking school lunch because they can increase the palatability of foods without adding salt and fat. However, there is currently limited evidence on how to successfully integrate herbs and spices into the school lunch menu. Developing evidence-based methods to teach school cafeteria workers to prepare healthy and tasty vegetable dishes with the addition of herbs and spices is a research priority. The investigators hypothesize that herbs and spices can be used to increase acceptance, intake, and participation in the school lunch program among 6th - 12th grade students from Central Pennsylvania.

Detailed description: What this study will add to the literature: Herbs and spices offer one potential solution to the recent decline in children taking school lunch because they can increase the palatability of foods without adding salt and fat. However, there is currently limited evidence on how to successfully integrate herbs and spices into the school lunch menu. Developing evidence-based methods to teach school cafeteria workers to prepare healthy and tasty vegetable dishes with the addition of herbs and spices is a research priority. This research will provide evidence that herbs and spices can be used to increase acceptance, intake, and participation in the school lunch program among 6th - 12th grade students from Central Pennsylvania.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Student in Bald Eagle Area Middle/High School
* Parents of students in Bald Eagle Area Middle/High School
* School Food Service Employees at the Bald Eagle Area Middle/High School

Exclusion Criteria:

* Students/children who have food allergies to herb/spice blend ingredients.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Surveys defining barriers to vegetable consumption at Bald Eagle Area Middle/High School
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Taste tests to quantify the change in liking of vegetable recipes
timeFrame: Baseline and after recipe development (approximately 10 months). Prior to intervention.
measure: Change in vegetable plate waste
timeFrame: Baseline, Intervention and Follow-up (1 and 6 months)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: School lunch program participation
timeFrame: Baseline, Intervention and Followup (1 and 6 months)
measure: Post-meal comment cards
timeFrame: Baseline, Intervention and Followup (1 and 6 months)
Other outcomes:
measure: Age Covariate
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Weight Status Covariate
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Parental Feeding Practices Covariate
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Parental Education Covariate
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Family Culture Covariate
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Family Intake of Herbs/Spices at Home Covariate
timeFrame: Baseline
Locations:
city: Wingate
country: United States
facility: Bald Eagle Middle/High School
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: Penn State University
name: Kathleen L. Keller, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: