Presented by Sally Pears and Pauline Milne - NUI Galway · Why Does Food Dudes Work? • The DVD episodes and rewards encourage children to taste fruit and vegetables repeatedly

Changing children’s eating habits for life

The Food Dudes Healthy Eating ProgrammePresented by Sally Pears and Pauline Milne

Behavioural Goal:

To increase consumption of fruit andvegetables in primary school children


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Why Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake?


• Adult recommended daily intake = 400g• Average British daily intake = 250g

• Worldwide obesity crisis• We must change eating habits

Health Benefits of Fruit and Vegetables


• Help prevent obesity• Protect against many cancers• Reduce the risk of coronary heart disease• Help prevent diabetes• Protect against asthma• Keep skin, teeth and hair healthy

• Designed by psychologists, based onbehavioural principles and theory.


• Brings about major and long-lasting change

The Food Dudes Programme

The Food Dudes 3 RsThe Food Dudes 3 Rs• Role Modelling – Food Dudes in battle with General Junk• Role Modelling – Food Dudes in battle with General Junk

• Rewards• Rewards

• Repeated Tasting• Repeated Tasting



Phase 1 (16 days)Days 1-4: Children earn a reward by tasting both their fruit and vegetable.

Days 5-16: Children earn a reward by eating a portion of their fruit and a portion oftheir veg.

A portion is roughly the amount that fits into the child’scupped hand


Phase 2 (ongoing)- Focus shifts to F&V eaten at school lunchtime.Day 17:- Reward given for home consumption during Phase 1.- Homepack 2 (letter and F&V boxes).Ongoing:- Children receive handstamps for eating F&V at lunchtime.- Teachers record progress on a classroom Wallchart.- Rewards given when children achieve targets on the Wallchart.

Why Does Food Dudes Work?• The DVD episodes and rewards encourage children to taste fruit and vegetables

repeatedly.

• Children discover the intrinsically rewarding properties of these foods and develop ataste for them.

• Children come to see themselves as fruit and vegetable eaters and are proud of it.

• The Programme creates a culture, both at school and at home, that strongly supports theeating of fruit and vegetables.


Results- Large increases in consumption

- Greatest increases in consumption shown by those children who are the ‘pooresteaters’.

- Increases in consumption are long-lasting.

- Increases extend across a wide range of fruit and vegetable varieties.

- The Programme works for all children aged 4-11yrs old.

- The effects generalise across contexts, ie. School to home.

- The Programme is equally effective for boy and girls.

- Effects are highly reliable, regardless of school location and social deprivation.

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NB. Average daily portion weight presented = 83g of fruit or 60g of vegetables

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Before After16 Days

After4 Months

Before After16 Days

After4 Months

Before After16 Days

After4 Months

Before After16 Days

After4 Months

Vegetables

London SchoolsPoorest Eaters


Food Dudes in Ireland2004• After seeing the overwhelmingly positive results of experimental evaluations of the

Food Dudes programme in England and Wales, the Irish Government decided to run anexperimental evaluation of the programme in schools in Ireland.

• The results of the evaluation were as strong as those of previous studies, with theprogramme resulting not only in large increases in children’s consumption of F&V butalso in parental provision of F&V in children’s lunchboxes.

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Fruit and Vegetable CONSUMPTION(from packed lunches)

Fruit and Vegetable PROVISION(in packed lunches)

Before

After 12 months

Horne et al. (2009) Increasing parental provision and children's consumption of lunchbox fruit and vegetables in Ireland: the FoodDudes intervention. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 63, p613-618.

Ireland Experimental Evaluation


Food Dudes in Ireland continued…2005• The Irish Government, with support from the European Union and Industry, launched a

pilot roll-out of the programme in 150 primary schools in Ireland.

2007• Based on the pilot roll-out’s success, the Irish Government made the Food Dudes

programme available to every primary school in Ireland (3,300 schools over 7 years) ona budget of 28 million euro. To date 200,000 children have participated in theprogramme.

2006• In recognition of its success after one year, the programme was awarded a World Health

Organization Best Practice Award.

Additional Portions of Lunchbox FRUIT Eaten at SCHOOL by Children(as reported by Parents and Teachers)

Parents

Teachers

Ireland Pilot Roll Out: Lunchbox Fruit

Additional Portions of Fruit Eaten by Children

• 92% of parents reportedthat their children wereeating more LunchboxFruit.

• 94% teachers reportedthat children were eatingmore Lunchbox Fruit.

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Additional Portions of Lunchbox VEGETBALES Eaten at SCHOOL by Children(as reported by Parents and Teachers)

Parents

Teachers

Ireland Pilot Roll Out: Lunchbox Veg

Additional Portions of Vegetables Eaten by Children

• 81% of parents reportedthat their children wereeating more Lunchbox Veg.

• 83% teachers reportedthat children were eatingmore Lunchbox Veg.

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Additional Portions of F&V Eaten at HOME by Children AND Parents

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Additional Portions of F&V Eaten by Children & Parents

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• 94% of parents reportedthat their children wereeating more F&V at home.

• 88% of parents reportedthat they themselves wereconsuming more F&V on adaily basis as a result of theprogramme.

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INCREASE In Daily Fruit and Vegetable Consumptionfrom Pre to Post Food Dudes

Ireland National Roll-Out: 1.5 and 2.5 years POST Intervention

1.5 years 2.5 years0

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1.881.5years POST Food Dudes

2.5 years POST Food Dudes

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WolverhamptonUnhealthy Snack Consumption (in School)

• As F&V consumption increased,‘unhealthy’ snack foodconsumption decreased.

• Suggests that F&V displaced othersnack food in children’s diets.

20% reduction

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*

Award Winning Programme

• 1998: Caroline Walker Trust - changing children’s diets

• 2006: World Health Organisation - combating obesity

• 2009: Social Marketing Centre - Showcase Award

• 2010: Chief Medical Officer’s Public Health Awards – Gold Medal


Contact:Dr Sally Pears or Ms Pauline MilneSchool of Psychology,Bangor University

Tel: 01248 388669 or 01248 388534Email: [email protected]

www.fooddudes.co.uk


Wolverhampton• 6 Experimental Schools.

• 24 hour food diary (DIET24) recorded consumption at different eatingoccasions throughout the day, both at home and at school.

• Number of portions of fruit and veg consumed.

• Results show large significant increases in both fruit and vegetableconsumption, particularly in the Poorest Eaters.

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Poorest Eaters(<2portions per day)

Whole School

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1.61*

WolverhamptonDaily Fruit & Veg Consumption (at Home and School)

Fruit

Vegetables


Some testimonials from parents……

‘He has increased the variety of fruit he eats and is keen to select when shopping….Excellent.’

‘‘Food Dudes should be introduced into every Primary School.Food Dudes should be introduced into every Primary School.’’

‘The children ate more fruit and veg and asked for less chocolate

and crisps!’

‘‘I found I was buying more fruit than usualI found I was buying more fruit than usual’’..

‘I think it was beneficial, it has helped and encouraged all the family to eat healthy. My sonis trying to encourage other family members to eat healthy.

Documents

Presented by Sally Pears and Pauline Milne - NUI Galway · Why Does Food Dudes Work? • The DVD episodes and rewards encourage children to taste fruit and vegetables repeatedly