title: Patterns in Vegetable Consumption: Implications for Tailored School Meal Interventions.
abstract: Vegetable consumption is a challenging behavioral target; consumption rates are below recommended levels and when interventions produce improvements, increases in vegetable consumption are typically a fraction of the change in fruit consumption. We describe vegetable consumption within Ohio school meals and examine how fruit selection, the more popular item, impacts vegetable consumption.
  
  
  
  Fruit and vegetable waste was collected on 11,250 trays from 17 elementary and 16 middle/high schools, using the quarter-waste visualization method.
  
  
  
  One in 4 students ate at least a one-fourth of a cup of vegetables with their school lunch. Consumption was the highest (30.8%) in elementary school buildings with a majority of regular priced meals. Fruit selection was associated with vegetable consumption (p < .001). Middle/high school students who consumed a fruit were 88% more likely to consume a vegetable as oppose to waste it (95% CI: 1.45-2.42). Fruit selection was also associated with not selecting a vegetable, but the association was of a lower magnitude (odds ratio 1.32; 95% CI: 1.06-1.64). Trends were similar in elementary schools.
  
  
  
  Fruit and vegetable consumption should be approached as 2 distinct behaviors with particular attention given to vegetables. Fruit items can be leveraged, though, as a means to encourage vegetable selection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population & Public Health Sciences, Wright State University, 3123 Research Blvd, Suite 200, Kettering, OH 45420.
authors.forename: Marietta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orlowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Population & Public Health Sciences, Wright State University, 3171 Research Blvd, Kettering, OH 45420.
authors.forename: Miryoung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Population & Public Health Sciences, Wright State University, 3123 Research Blvd, Suite 200, Kettering, OH 45420.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Spears
authors.affiliation: Department of Population & Public Health Sciences, Wright State University, 3123 Research Blvd, Suite 200, Kettering, OH 45420.
authors.forename: Roopsi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Narayan
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Allied Health, Bowling Green State University, 125 Health and Human Services Building, Bowling Green, OH 43403-0059.
authors.forename: Rebecca S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Pobocik
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, 127 Arps Hall, 1945 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43210-1172.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kennel
authors.affiliation: Department of Population & Public Health Sciences, Wright State University, 3123 Research Blvd, Suite 200, Kettering, OH 45420.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Krafka
authors.affiliation: Office for Child Nutrition, Ohio Department of Education, 25 S. Front Street, Columbus, OH, 43215-4183.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D005522:Food Services / Q000592:standards*; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014675:Vegetables
keywords: child and adolescent health; fruit consumption; plate waste; school meals; vegetable consumption