Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT02091154

How Environmental Interventions Influence Behavior in School Lunchrooms

The investigators hypothesize that the new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations for lunches served as part of the National School Lunch Program will decrease the percentage of enrolled students purchasing lunch, increase the percentage of children taking fruit and vegetables, decrease the percentage of fruit and vegetable servings being thrown away, and increase the total number of fruit and vegetable servings eaten.

The investigators also hypothesize that when the regulations are in force, simple behavioral interventions can counteract the potentially negative impact on lunch sales and consumption. In other words, implementing the regulations and behavioral interventions together, the percentage of enrolled students taking a school lunch will increase at least back to baseline levels, the percentage of children taking fruits and vegetables will increase, the percentage of fruit and vegetable servings wasted will decrease, and the total number of fruit and vegetable servings eaten will increase.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Child Behavior Adolescent Behavior Behavior Health Behavior

Age range

5 year–19 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

New York City School District

New York, United States

About this study

This study was conducted in 43 schools in the New York City (NYC) School district in the spring of 2012. The new regulations for school lunches were scheduled to roll out nationally in the fall of the same year, so this study was designed to provide an indication of the impact the new regulations would have.

In addition to the regulations, the investigators also tested additional behavioral interventions, in conjunction with the regulations, to determine how the behavioral interventions might offset, or magnify, the impacts of the regulations.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Public schools with any combination of grades K-12

Exclusion criteria

  • No point of sale system in school
  • Satellite school
  • Feeder school

Treatment and study plan

USDA Regulations

Behavioral

Implement new USDA regulations assigned school cafeterias.

  • Fruit or vegetable on every tray
  • Meet requirements for vegetable varieties
  • 50% of all grains must be whole grain
  • Milk must be 1% or skim; flavored milk must be skim

Marketing Kit

Behavioral

This marketing tool kit is designed to encourage purchasing of school lunches. The marketing tool kit included the following components:

  • 56''x72'' vinyl sign with the words "[school mascot] Cafe"
  • 8.5''x11'' signs describing the foods offered on a specific day
  • 2''x4'' signs used to name all foods. These were to be placed in a visible location near the corresponding food.
  • Magnetic board displaying a tray onto which magnets shaped as food can be placed to show what foods were being offered during a specific lunch shift.

Smarter Lunchrooms Makeover (SLM)

Behavioral

Implement three basic Smarter Lunchrooms techniques. It consists of the following components:

  • Place fruit in an attractive bowl or serving dish and set on two places on the line. One of the places should be at or near the register.
  • Give all vegetables descriptive names and write or type them on a 2''x4'' card. These cards should be visible and placed near the corresponding food.
  • Make white milk the most prominent milk in the milk coolers by making it the most available milk and easiest to take.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in percent fruit or vegetable waste by student

    Time frame: Six months

    In the twelve schools, tray waste data were collected twice in April 2012 and once in May 2012. Results were generated and reported in September 2012.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in lunch sales

    Time frame: Six months

    Lunch sales data were collected each school day in the 43 schools from March through May 2012. Results were generated and reported in September 2012.

Other outcomes

  1. Change in servings of fruits and vegetables taken

    Time frame: Six months

    Each school cafeteria keeps records on the number of servings of each food served during a lunch period. These data were collected each day in the 43 schools from March through May 2012. Results were generated and reported in September 2012.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Cornell University

Other

Collaborators

  • United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Registry information

Official study title

Evaluating the Impact on Lunch Sales and Consumption of New School Lunch Guidelines and Behavioral Interventions in NYC Schools

Important dates

Study start
2012
Primary completion
2012
Study completion
2012
First posted
Mar 19, 2014
Registry last updated
Feb 7, 2022

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.