Increasing Fruit and Vegetables Consumption among Elementary School Children

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of educational program on fruit and vegetable consumption among the fourth grade elementary school students. This experimental study randomly divided 138 students into intervention group (n = 68) and control group (n = 70). Data collection tool was a self-administered questionnaire and food recording and food frequency questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire was provided using content validity، face validity and internal reliability (α = 0. 86). The six 60-minute educational sessions were conducted during one month. Data of the two groups were collected before and three months after the educational intervention. Finally، the data were analyzed using chi-square، t-test and paired t-test. Findings of this study showed that mean scores of the knowledge (P < 0. 001)، attitude to action (P < 0. 001) and social support (P = 0. 030) were significantly increased in the intervention group compared to the controls after the intervention. Moreover، the number of serving intakes regarding the fruit and vegetable has been increased significantly in the intervention group (P < 0. 001). Our findings suggested that nutritional education is an accessible effective tool in health promotion programs with a focus on development of healthy nutritional practices.