Aim
The Healthy Habits trial aimed to assess the efficacy of a telephone-based intervention for parents to increase the fruit and vegetable consumption in their 3–5-y-old children.
Objectives
It was hypothesized that the change in children’s fruit and vegetable scores from baseline to 2 months and from baseline to 6 months would be greater in the intervention children than in the control children. The sustained impact of the Healthy Habits trial on children's fruit and vegetable intake was evaluated at 12 and 18 months after baseline data collection.
Summary
A cluster randomised control trial tested the efficacy of a telephone-based intervention for parents to improve children's fruit and vegetable intake. Parents in the intervention group received four telephone calls over four weeks and were mailed resources, including guidebook, a meal planner, cookbooks, and a water bottle for all family members. The intervention used behaviour-change techniques including goal setting, behavioral self-monitoring, intention formation, use of prompts or cues, and review of behavioral goals. The calls focused on increasing fruit and vegetable availability and accessibility in the home, increasing parental role-modeling of fruit and vegetable consumption, and enhancing supportive food routines around the home.
Publication document: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/96/1/102/4571414.
Journal article: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/99/3/543/4577387.
Other resources: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-10-216.