title: Increased Classroom Consumption of Home-Provided Fruits and Vegetables for Normal and Overweight Children: Results of the Food Dudes Program in Italy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To increase classroom consumption of home-provided fruits (F) and vegetables (V) in obese, overweight, and normal weight children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consumption evaluated within and across the baseline phase and the end of the intervention and maintenance phases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three Italian primary schools.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study involved 672 children (321 male and 329 female) aged 5-11 years. Body mass index measures were available for 461 children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intervention schools received the Food Dudes (FD) program: 16 days of repeated taste exposure (40 g of F and 40 g of V), video modeling, and rewards-based techniques. The comparison school was only repeatedly exposed to FV.
  
  
  METHODS
  Grams of FV brought from home and eaten.
  
  
  METHODS
  Chi-square, independent t test, repeated-measures ANOVA, and generalized estimating equation model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intervention schools show a significant increase in home-provided F (P < .001) and V (P < .001) consumption both in overweight and non-overweight children. Approximately half of children in the intervention schools ate at least 1 portion of FV at the end of the intervention and maintenance phases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increase in home-provided FV intake was similar in overweight and non-overweight children in the FD intervention schools compared with the comparison school. The effect of the FD program was higher at the end of the intervention phase than the end of the maintenance phase.
authors.affiliation: Facoltà Scienze Umane e Sociali, Università di Enna "Kore", Enna, Italy; IESCUM, Parma, Italy. Electronic address: giovambattista.presti@unikore.it.
authors.forename: Giovambattista
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Presti
authors.affiliation: IESCUM, Parma, Italy; Dipartimento Gianpaolo Fabris, Università IULM, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cau
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Gianpaolo Fabris, Università IULM, Milan, Italy; Department of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oppo
authors.affiliation: IESCUM, Parma, Italy; Dipartimento Gianpaolo Fabris, Università IULM, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moderato
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005638:Fruit; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014675:Vegetables
keywords: child; childhood obesity; food habits; fruit; vegetables