Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ttngx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-16T11:05:44.530Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Successful strategies to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables: results from the Danish ‘6 a day’ Work-site Canteen Model Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Anne Lassen ,
Anne Vibeke Thorsen ,
Ellen Trolle ,
Mette Elsig  and
Lars Ovesen
Anne Lassen*
Affiliation:
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark
Anne Vibeke Thorsen
Affiliation:
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark
Ellen Trolle
Affiliation:
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark
Mette Elsig
Affiliation:
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark
Lars Ovesen
Affiliation:
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author: Email ann@fdir.dk
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective:

To investigate changes in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in work-site canteens using the tools of continuous quality improvement, and to gain knowledge of practical strategies being effective in increasing the consumption.

Design:

Study design included baseline data collection, an 8 h training session for all canteen staff, goal setting, strategy development and implementation for each canteen, end-point data collection and a follow-up data collection 4 months from the end-point (1 year from baseline). The main outcome measurement was average grams of fruits and vegetables per lunch meal served per customer (net weight; potatoes not included).

Setting:

Five workplaces in Denmark: a military base, an electronic component distributor, a bank, a town hall and a waste-handling facility.

Subjects:

Work-site canteen managers, staff and customers.

Results:

There were significant increases in the total consumption of fruits and vegetables for all five work-site canteens from baseline to end-point, 70 g per customer on average (67, 54, 39, 88 and 103 g, respectively). The follow-up data collection showed that the canteens either maintained or significantly increased consumption, the average increase being 95 g per customer compared with baseline (77, 60, 86, 70 and 183 g, respectively).

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates a large potential for work-site canteens to increase customers' intake of fruits and vegetables at lunch and suggests a broad spectrum of strategies to compose meals that are both rich in fruits and vegetables and attractive to customers.

Keywords

WorkplaceNutritionFood serviceFruitsVegetables
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , April 2004 , pp. 263 - 270
Copyright
Copyright © CAB International 2004

References

1Steinmetz, KA, Potter, JD. Vegetables, fruit, and cancer. I. Epidemiology. Cancer Causes & Control 1991; 2: 325–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Block, G, Patterson, B, Subar, A. Fruit, vegetables, and cancer prevention: a review of epidemiological evidence. Nutrition and Cancer 1992; 18: 1–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Ness, AR, Powles, JW. Fruit and vegetables, and cardiovascular disease: a review. International Journal of Epidemiology 1997; 26: 1–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4Jansen, MCJF, van't Veer, P, Kok, FJ. Fruits and Vegetables in Chronic Disease Prevention. Rationale for Fruits and Vegetables – Campaign. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Landouwuniversitet Wageningen, 1995.Google Scholar
5Law, MR, Morris, JK. By how much does fruit and vegetable consumption reduce the risk of ischaemic heart disease?. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1998; 52: 549–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6van't Veer, P, Jansen, MCJF, Klerk, M, Kok, FJ. Fruits and vegetables in the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Public Health Nutrition 2000; 3: 103–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Joshipura, KJ, Ascherio, A, Manson, JE, Stampfer, MJ, Rimm, EB, Speizer, FE, et al. Fruit and vegetable intake in relation to risk of ischemic stroke. Journal of the American Medical Association 1999; 282: 1233–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8Joshipura, KJ, Hu, FB, Manson, JE, Stampfer, MJ, Rimm, EB, Speizer, FE, et al. The effect of fruit and vegetable intake on risk for coronary heart disease. Annals of Internal Medicine 2001; 134: 1106–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Trolle, E, Fagt, S, Ovesen, L. Frugt og grøntsager. Anbefalinger for indtagelse [Fruits and Vegetables Recommended Intake]. Copenhagen: Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, 1998.Google Scholar
10Joffe, M, Robertson, A. The potential contribution of increased vegetable and fruit consumption to health gain in the European Union. Public Health Nutrition 2001; 4: 893–901.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11Subar, AF, Heimendinger, J, Patterson, BH, Krebs-Smith, SM, Pivonka, E, Kessler, R. Fruit and vegetable intake in the United States: the baseline survey of the Five A Day for Better Health Program. American Journal of Health Promotion 1994; 9: 352–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12Stockley, L (Rapporteur). Working Party 3: Final report. Toward public health nutrition strategies in the European Union to implement food based dietary guidelines and to enhance healthier lifestyles. Public Health Nutrition 2001; 4: 307–24.Google Scholar
13Eertmans, A, Baeyens, F, Van den Bergh, O. Food likes and their relative importance in human eating behavior: review and preliminary suggestions for health promotion. Health Education Research 2001; 16: 443–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14Glanz, K, Mullis, RM. Environmental interventions to promote healthy eating: a review of models, programs, and evidence. Health Education Quarterly 1988; 15: 395–415.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15Chu, C, Breucker, G, Harris, N, Stitzel, A, Gan, X, Gu, X, et al. Health-promoting workplaces – international settings development. Health Promotion International 2000; 15: 155–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16Buller, DB, Hunt, MK, Sorensen, G, Beresford, S. The 5 A Day Worksite Program. In: National Institutes of Health, ed. 5 A Day for Better Health Program, Bethesda, MD: NIH Publication, 2001; 129–32.Google Scholar
17Havas, S, Heimendinger, J, Damron, D, Nicklas, TA, Cowan, A, Beresford, SAA, et al. 5 a Day for Better Health – nine community research projects to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. Public Heath Reports 1995; 110: 68–79.Google Scholar
18Société Française de Santé Publique. Health and Human Nutrition: Element for European Action. Vandoevre, France: Collection Santé & Société, 2000.Google Scholar
19Robidoux, LW, Sankaran, G. Managing nutrition services in nursing homes: is continuous quality improvement a key to survival?. Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly 1998; 17: 41–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20Cook, S, Sinclair, D. Emergency department triage: a program assessment using the tools of continuous quality improvement. Journal of Emergency Medicine 1997; 15: 889–94.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Jeffery, RW, French, SA, Raether, C, Baxter, JE. An environmental intervention to increase fruit and salad purchases in a cafeteria. Preventive Medicine 1994; 23: 788–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22Abrams, DB, Boutwell, WB, Grizzle, J, Heimendinger, J, Sorensen, G, Varnes, J. Cancer control at the workplace: the Working Well Trial. Preventive Medicine 1994; 23: 15–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23Sorensen, G, Thompson, B, Glanz, K, Feng, Z, Kinne, S, DiClemente, C, et al. Work site-based cancer prevention: primary results from the Working Well Trial. American Journal of Public Health 1996; 86: 939–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24Beresford, SAA, Thompson, B, Feng, Z, Christianson, A, McLerran, D, Patrick, DL. Seattle 5 a Day Worksite Program to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. Preventive Medicine 2001; 32: 230–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25Sorensen, G, Stoddard, A, Peterson, K, Cohen, N, Hunt, MK, Stein, E, et al. Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption though worksites and families in the Treatwell 5-a-Day Study. American Journal of Public Health 1999; 89: 54–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26Osganian, SK, Ebzery, MK, Montgomery, D, Nicklas, TA, Evans, MA, Mitchell, PD, et al. Changes in the nutrient content of school lunches: results from the CATCH Eat Smart Food Service Intervention. Preventive Medicine 1996; 25: 400–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27Parker, L, Fox, A. The Peterborough Schools Project: a multiple intervention programme to improve school-based eating in secondary schools. Public Health Nutrition 2001; 4: 1221–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28MacAskill, L, Dwyer, JJM, Uetrecht, C, Dombrow, C, Crompton, R, Wilck, B, et al. An evaluation assessment to develop a restaurant health promotion program in Canada. Health Promotion International 2000; 15: 57–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29Snowdon, W. Bedfordshire Heartbeat Award: research into caterer and customer perceptions of this award. Journal of Health Education 1998; 36: 60–3.Google Scholar
30Peach, R, Dehar, M-A, Casswell, S, Gourley, G. Heartbeat Awards in intermediate and secondary schools in New Zealand: outcomes of the first two years. Health Promotion Journal of Australia 1996; 6: 42–50.Google Scholar
31Warm, DL, Rushmere, AE, Margetts, BM, Kerridge, L, Speller, VM. The Heartbeat Award Scheme: an evaluation of catering practices. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 1997; 10: 171–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32Carter, M-A, Swinburn, B. Measuring the impact of a school food programme on food sales in New Zealand. Health Promotion International 1999; 14: 307–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
33Ugboro, IO, Obeng, K. Top management leadership, employee empowermentg, job satisfaction, and customer satisfaction in TQM organizations: an empirical study. Journal of Quality Management 2000; 5: 247–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34Dess, GG, Picken, JC. Changing roles: leadership in the 21st century. Organizational Dynamics 2000; 28: 18–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar