NCT07493954

Eat Healthy Grow Healthy Program to Promote Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Preschoolers

Eat Healthy, Grow Healthy: Strategies to Promote Fruit and Vegetable Intake Among Preschoolers in Denton County to Prevent Childhood Obesity and Related Health Complications

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 72 (actual)
• Sponsor: Texas Woman's University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 99 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The Eat Healthy, Grow Healthy (EatGrow) program is a family-based, fully virtual nutrition education intervention designed to improve fruit and vegetable intake among preschool-aged children. Parents and their children participate together in interactive online lessons over eight weeks, including parent-child cooking, taste-testing, and engaging nutrition education. Recruitment was conducted via schools, but schools are not involved in delivering the program. The study measures changes in children's fruit and vegetable intake and willingness to try new foods, as well as parental nutrition literacy, attitudes, and self-efficacy. Weekly tasks are included for engagement.

Detailed description

Childhood obesity is a major public health concern, and increasing fruit and vegetable intake is an effective prevention strategy. The EatGrow study is a family-based, fully virtual intervention targeting preschool-aged children and their parents. Recruitment was conducted via schools; however, schools do not participate in delivering the intervention. The study has three primary aims: Aim 1: Assess changes in parental nutrition literacy, attitudes, and self-efficacy regarding incorporating fruits and vegetables into daily meals. Aim 2: Evaluate the effectiveness of the EatGrow virtual nutrition education intervention in increasing fruit and vegetable intake among preschool-aged children. Aim 3: Determine whether the intervention reduces food neophobia and increases children's willingness to try a variety of fruits and vegetables. The intervention is delivered over eight weeks via interactive online modules. Activities include parent-child cooking, taste-testing, and interactive nutrition education. Weekly engagement tasks are included to encourage participation. Outcomes are measured through parent-completed surveys assessing their child's dietary intake and food preferences, as well as parental nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy. This study aims to provide evidence on the effectiveness of virtual, family-based interventions in promoting healthy eating behaviors and preventing childhood obesity.

Conditions

• Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Preschool-aged Children to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	EatGrow Intervention	8-week fully virtual, family-based nutrition education program for parents and preschool-aged children, including parent-child cooking, taste-testing, and interactive nutrition education lessons. Delivered entirely online to promote fruit and vegetable intake and reduce food neophobia.
BEHAVIORAL	Delayed access	Control group participants receive delayed access to the EatGrow intervention after post-intervention data collection. No nutrition lessons or tasks are provided during the study period.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-01-13
• Primary completion: 2026-04-01
• Completion: 2026-05-31
• First posted: 2026-03-27
• Last updated: 2026-03-27

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States