Children who get involved in school gardening initiatives are no more likely to eat fruit and vegetables, researchers at a British university claim.
Experts from Leeds Metropolitan University who carried out checks on youngsters aged between eight and 11 have claimed more sophisticated measures are needed to improve diets.
Dr Meaghan Christian, of the Institute for Health and Wellbeing at Leeds Metropolitan University, which led the work in eight London boroughs, carried out the work because she feels cahildren’s fruit and vegetable intake in the UK is low, and 'changing that intake can prove challenging.'
“For school gardening to improve children’s fruit and vegetable intake, however, it needs to be successfully integrated into the school curriculum and environment,' she added.
Dr Christian maintained that incorporating nutrition education or cooking with parental involvement to achieve higher consumption would also help.
Previous research which has been conducted by Dr Christian demonstrated that eating meals together as a family, even if only twice a week, boosted the likelihood of children getting their 5 A DAY.
The study also suggested that parental consumption of fruit and vegetables and cutting up portions for children helped to boost their intake.
