1.Fruit and vegetable intake among overweight and obese school children: A cluster randomised control trial
Rusidah Selamat ; Junidah Raib ; Nur Azlina Abdul Aziz ; Norlida Zulkafly ; Ainan Nasrina Ismail ; W Nurul Ashikin W Mohamad ; Muhammad Yazid Jalaludin ; Fuziah Md Zain ; Zahari Ishak ; Abqariyah Yahya ; Abdul Halim Mokhtar
Malaysian Journal of Nutrition 2021;27(No.1):67-79
Introduction: Adequate daily intake of fruits and vegetables is crucial for the
prevention of chronic diseases. This study aimed to determine the effects of My
Body is Fit and Fabulous at School (MyBFF@school) with nutrition education
intervention (NEI) on the stages of change for fruit and vegetable intake among
overweight and obese secondary school children based on the trans-theoretical
model (TTM). Methods: This was a cluster randomised controlled trial involving 15
out of 415 eligible government secondary schools in central Peninsular Malaysia,
which were randomly assigned into intervention (six schools; 579 school children)
and control (nine schools; 462 school children). The intervention group was given
NEI for 24 weeks, while the control group followed the existing school programme
by the Ministry of Education. Results: There was no significant difference between
the intervention and control groups for the stages of change, with majority at the
maintenance stage after six months (intervention: 34.9%; control: 39.0%). The
within group analysis showed a significant reduction after six months for those
at the action stage (action and maintenance stage) from 68.0% to 60.4% in the
intervention group and from 71.4% to 65.6% in the control group. However, there
was a significant increase among those with adequate fruit and vegetable intake in
the intervention group and no significant increase in the control group. Conclusion:
MyBFF@school with NEI based on TTM provided acceptable changes in fruit and
vegetable intake among overweight and obese secondary school children.