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Food PreferencesNutrition and dietBehavioralChildren's healthBehavioral

What this study is

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine the effects of a nutrition education program on preschool children's food literacy and food acceptance, and to examine the added influence of a healthy eating curriculum and parent education on children's food knowledge and healthful food choices. The project will be evaluated with 450 children ages 3 to 5 years in center-based childcare programs serving predominantly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-eligible families in Pennsylvania. Outcomes for children who receive the added healthy eating curriculum will be compared to children in classrooms that only receive the nutrition education program.

What's being tested

  • Healthy Eating Curriculum

    Intervention · BEHAVIORAL

    The Healthy Eating (HE) curriculum is designed to provide children with skills needed to develop healthy eating habits. Each lesson builds upon the overall goal of creating a healthy restaurant. Children are taught to identify differences between GO and WHOA foods, recognize the five food groups, and learn to make healthy food choices.

  • Improving the Classroom Food and Mealtime Environment

    Intervention · BEHAVIORAL

    HBP+ Classrooms will receive additional sensory activities for each lesson (e.g., posters, food models, games) designed to improve the classroom food environment and provide repeated exposure to activities and messages about fruits and vegetables. Teachers in HBP+ classrooms will be provided with additional training on strategies shown to increase food acceptance in preschool children (e.g., modeling, encouraging children to try foods without coercion). In addition, HBP+ classrooms will include "tasting charts" that children will stamp to indicate their liking for each food each week.

  • Parent Education

    Intervention · BEHAVIORAL

    Parents in intervention classrooms will be given access to 8 web-based lessons on food parenting and responsive parenting. Topics include: establishing mealtime routines, shopping healthy on a budget; modeling of healthy eating behaviors; addressing picky eating in children; structuring low-stress mealtime environments; the division of responsibility in feeding, and portion control.

  • ECE Food Acceptance Training

    Intervention · BEHAVIORAL

    HBP+ early childhood educators (ECEs) will be asked to complete an online, self-paced course on increasing food acceptance in preschool children. Topics will include: repeated exposure to foods; modeling of healthy eating behaviors; addressing picky eating in children; structuring low-stress mealtime environments; and the division of responsibility in feeding.

Study details

Official title
Increasing Food Literacy as a Means of Increasing Preschool Children's Food Acceptance and Reducing Obesity Risk
Sponsor
Penn State University
Conditions
Food Preferences · Food Selection · Eating, Healthy · Obesity, Childhood
Enrolling
770 people
Starts
2023-10-03
Est. completion
2026-08
Design
Single-blind, randomized, parallel groups
Record
View on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗