Abstract
Objective: Many educational programs focusing on promoting vegetable consumption among children have been conducted in Japan; however, no systematic reviews on these educational programs and evaluation methods have been published. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to systematically review the published articles and assess the effect of the educational programs on the promotion of vegetable consumption among children in Japan. We also discuss the challenges presented by Japanese study reports after comparison with reviews of internationally published literature to promote future studies.
Methods: We searched three databases (“Igaku chuo zasshi”, CiNii, and MEDLINE [PubMed]) for articles published between 2003 and 2012, considering the following criteria: the target journal, article category, study design, subject, program contents, endpoint, and statistical analysis. We also manually searched 17 journals related to nutrition and children using the same aforementioned criteria. We analyzed the extracted articles using evidence tables.
Results: We selected 13 articles; seven articles were before-after studies and none of the articles were randomized controlled trials (RCT). In many articles, the intervention targets were schoolchildren, and their guardians were not directly involved. Most of the educational programs included learning based on experience, and the education based on the behavioral science theory. Only four articles reported the quantitative measurement of vegetable consumption, of which only one study was a non-RCT with controls.
Conclusions: Although there are several reports of intervention studies for promoting vegetable consumption at schools in Japan, further studies—which can provide a higher level of evidence in terms of the evaluation design and endpoint measurement—should be performed.
