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

Pediatric Obesity Clinical Trial

Official title:

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

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02522559
• Other study ID #: Spiceinschool01
• Secondary ID: Spices
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: April 6, 2015
• Last updated: January 3, 2018
• Start date: April 14, 2015
• Est. completion date: December 22, 2017

Study information

• Verified date: January 2018
• Source: Penn State University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

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.

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.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 110
• Est. completion date: December 22, 2017
• Est. primary completion date: December 22, 2017
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 11 Years to 19 Years

Eligibility

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.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Pediatric Obesity

Intervention

Other:
• Spice Intervention
Spice Intervention:Novel herb and spice blends will be used in cafeteria recipes.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Bald Eagle Middle/High School	Wingate	Pennsylvania

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Penn State University	McCormick Science Institute

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Age Covariate	We plan to assess age to see if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.	Baseline
Other	Weight Status Covariate	We plan to assess weight status to see if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.	Baseline
Other	Parental Feeding Practices Covariate	We plan to assess if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.	Baseline
Other	Parental Education Covariate	We plan to assess if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.	Baseline
Other	Family Culture Covariate	We plan to assess if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.	Baseline
Other	Family Intake of Herbs/Spices at Home Covariate	We plan to assess if this covariate influences a student's response to the survey.	Baseline
Primary	Surveys defining barriers to vegetable consumption at Bald Eagle Area Middle/High School	Conduct surveys of students, parents and food service experts to gather information describing ways to increase vegetable intake at Bald Eagle Area Middle/High School	Baseline
Primary	Taste tests to quantify the change in liking of vegetable recipes	Student's liking of vegetables prepared with herbs/spices will be assessed during the taste tests by setting up sensory panels in their culinary and consumer education classes. Participating students will rate liking and will provide written feedback to inform recipe development.	Baseline and after recipe development (approximately 10 months). Prior to intervention.
Primary	Change in vegetable plate waste	Weight of vegetable disappearance from the school cafeteria, minus waste weight, in kg.	Baseline, Intervention and Follow-up (1 and 6 months)
Secondary	School lunch program participation	Percentage of children who are participating in the school lunch program will be assessed the school years prior to and immediately after the intervention	Baseline, Intervention and Followup (1 and 6 months)
Secondary	Post-meal comment cards	Student's will rate satisfaction with the school lunches by completing anonymous, post-meal comment cards during the baseline, intervention, and follow-up phases.	Baseline, Intervention and Followup (1 and 6 months)