Evidence

Food Dudes has been developed and extensively tested with thousands of children aged 2-11 in homes, nurseries and primary schools in England (Oxford, Manchester and London), Wales and Ireland and it has been shown in every case to be highly successful in getting children to eat fruit and vegetables.

The results of the studies to date indicate that the Food Dudes Healthy Eating Programme works very well in primary schools and brings about substantial increases in pupils’ consumption of fruit and vegetables.

Some of the key findings from this research are listed below:

• Large increases in consumption. See interactive graph one.

  This graph shows the results of a study conducted in 749 children (aged 5-7yrs) in London which compared eating patterns in two similar schools:

  School 1 (Food Dudes school):

  received free fruit and vegetables at lunchtime and ran the Food Dudes Programme.

  School 2 (Control school):

  received free fruit and vegetables only.

  Consumption data before the Food Dudes intervention (‘Before’) is shown below – click on the graph to see consumption 16 days after the intervention was introduced (’After 16 Days’) and consumption 4 months after the intervention (‘After 4 months’).

  

  1. Large increases in consumption

  In the school that had the Food Dudes Programme, children ate far more fruit and vegetables than they had done previously (fruit consumption more than trebled) whereas children in the Control school continued to eat very little of these foods.

  Horne et al. (2004) Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 58, pp1649-1660.

• The greatest increases in consumption are shown by those children who ate the least at the start i.e., poorest eaters. See interactive graph two.

  The greatest increases in consumption are shown by those children who ate the least at the start (i.e. the poorest eaters)

  This graph shows the results of a study conducted in 749 children (aged 4-11yrs) in London which compared eating patterns in two similar schools:

  School 1 (Food Dudes school):

  received free fruit and vegetables at lunchtime and ran the Food Dudes Programme.

  School 2 (Control school):

  received free fruit and vegetables only.

  Consumption data before the Food Dudes intervention (‘Before’) is shown for the “poorest eaters” in the schools (i.e. the bottom 20%) – click on the graph to see consumption 16 days after the intervention was introduced (’After 16 Days’) and consumption 4 months after the intervention (‘After 4 months’) in these poorest eaters.

  

  2. Greatest increases in poorest eaters

  The poorest eaters in the Food Dudes (Intervention) school went from eating just 4% of the fruit they were given prior to the Food Dudes intervention to eating 68% after it. Four months later (at follow-up) these children were still eating twelve times the fruit they ate originally, and four times the quantity of vegetables. The poorest eaters in the Control school, however, continued to show no interest in eating fruit and vegetables in spite of having them readily available.

  Horne et al. (2004) Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 58, pp1649-1660.

• Increases in consumption are long-lasting. See interactive graph three.

  Increases in consumption are long-lasting

  This graph shows the results of a study conducted in children (aged 4-7yrs) in Ireland which compared eating patterns in two similar schools:

  School 1 (Food Dudes school):

  received free fruit and vegetables at snacktime and ran the Food Dudes Programme.

  School 2 (Control school):

  received free fruit and vegetables only.

  In these schools children were not provided with school meals but instead brought their lunches from home. The graph below therefore shows both provision and consumption of fruit and vegetables before the Food Dudes intervention (‘Before’) – click on the graph to see provision and consumption 12 months after the intervention (‘After 12 months’).

  

  3. Long-lasting increases in consumption

  In the school that had the Food Dudes, parents provided and children ate far more fruit and vegetables that they had done previously, even 12 months after the intervention, whereas children in the control school continued to eat very little of these foods.

  Horne et al. (2008) Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. Advance online publication, 21 May 2008; doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.2008.34.

• Increases extend across a wide range of fruit and vegetable varieties. See interactive graph four.

  Increases extend across a wide range of fruit and vegetable varieties
  

  This graph shows consumption data from a study conducted in a Food Dudes school in Manchester (163 children, aged 4-11yrs).

  Pre-intervention consumption data (‘Before’) is shown for 8 different types of fruit and vegetables – click on the graph to see consumption data for these same foods after the Food Dudes intervention (‘After’).

  

  4. Increases across a wide range of fruit and veg

  Consumption of all 8 fruits and vegetables increased significantly after the Food Dudes intervention.

  Lowe et al. (2004) Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 58, pp510-522.

• The Programme works for all children aged 2-11 years old. See interactive graph five.

  The Programme works for all children aged 2-11 years old
  

  The graphs below shows consumption data before the Food Dudes intervention (‘Before’) at both snacktime (hatched bars) and lunchtime (solid bars) in children aged 2-4yrs. Click on the graph to see consumption data for these same foods 16 days after the Food Dudes intervention was introduced (‘After 16 days’) and 9-15 months after the intervention (‘After 9-15 months’).

  

  5. All children aged 2-11yrs

  Interactive Graphs 1-4 all show that Food Dudes increases fruit and vegetable consumption in children aged 4-11yrs. This graph, however, shows that Food Dudes can even increase consumption in children as young as 2-4yrs old.

  Tapper et al. (2003) The Psychologist 16(1), pp18-21.

• The effects generalise across contexts i.e., school to home.
• The Programme is equally effective for boys and girls.
• Effects are highly reliable, regardless of school location and social deprivation.

Clearly, if you want to change children’s diets, it is not enough just to give them good food. You also have to find a way of motivating them to eat and enjoy it. This is where the Food Dudes Programme comes into its own.