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Clinical Trial
. 2004 Sep;94(9):1507-12.
doi: 10.2105/ajph.94.9.1507.

An environmental intervention to promote lower-fat food choices in secondary schools: outcomes of the TACOS Study

Simone A French  1 , Mary Story, Jayne A Fulkerson, Peter Hannan
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

An environmental intervention to promote lower-fat food choices in secondary schools: outcomes of the TACOS Study

Simone A French et al. Am J Public Health. 2004 Sep.

Abstract

Objectives: We evaluated an environmental intervention intended to increase sales of lower-fat foods in secondary school cafeterias.

Methods: Twenty secondary schools were randomly assigned to either an environmental intervention or a control group for a 2-year period. The intervention increased the availability of lower-fat foods and implemented student-based promotions.

Results: A steeper rate of increase in sales of lower-fat foods in year 1 (10% intervention vs -2.8% control, P =.002) and a higher percentage of sales of lower-fat foods in year 2 (33.6% intervention vs 22.1% control, P =.04) were observed. There were no significant changes in student self-reported food choices.

Conclusions: School-based environmental interventions to increase availability and promotion of lower-fat foods can increase purchase of these foods among adolescents.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Percentage low-fat à la carte sales during intervention year 1 (2000) in 2 intervention schools and 2 control schools representative of TACOS. Shown are data and slope for (a) intervention school 1, (b) intervention school 4, (c) control school 15, and (d) control school 17.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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