Using Herbs and Spices to Increase Children's Acceptance and Intake of Vegetables in School Lunches

The Pennsylvania State University (PENNSTATE)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Pediatric Obesity

Treatments: Other: Spice Intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02522559

Spices (Other Identifier)

Spiceinschool01

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Full 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.

Enrollment: 110 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 11 to 19 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

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.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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110 participants in 1 patient group

Spice Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

Spice intervention: Student-approved vegetable recipes will be served in the school cafeteria.

Treatment:

Other: Spice Intervention