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Successful strategies to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables: results from the Danish ‘6 a day’ Work-site Canteen Model Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Anne Lassen ,
Anne Vibeke Thorsen ,
Ellen Trolle ,
Mette Elsig  and
Lars Ovesen
Anne Lassen*
Affiliation:
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark
Anne Vibeke Thorsen
Affiliation:
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark
Ellen Trolle
Affiliation:
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark
Mette Elsig
Affiliation:
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark
Lars Ovesen
Affiliation:
Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
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Abstract

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Objective:

To investigate changes in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in work-site canteens using the tools of continuous quality improvement, and to gain knowledge of practical strategies being effective in increasing the consumption.

Design:

Study design included baseline data collection, an 8 h training session for all canteen staff, goal setting, strategy development and implementation for each canteen, end-point data collection and a follow-up data collection 4 months from the end-point (1 year from baseline). The main outcome measurement was average grams of fruits and vegetables per lunch meal served per customer (net weight; potatoes not included).

Setting:

Five workplaces in Denmark: a military base, an electronic component distributor, a bank, a town hall and a waste-handling facility.

Subjects:

Work-site canteen managers, staff and customers.

Results:

There were significant increases in the total consumption of fruits and vegetables for all five work-site canteens from baseline to end-point, 70 g per customer on average (67, 54, 39, 88 and 103 g, respectively). The follow-up data collection showed that the canteens either maintained or significantly increased consumption, the average increase being 95 g per customer compared with baseline (77, 60, 86, 70 and 183 g, respectively).

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates a large potential for work-site canteens to increase customers' intake of fruits and vegetables at lunch and suggests a broad spectrum of strategies to compose meals that are both rich in fruits and vegetables and attractive to customers.

Keywords

WorkplaceNutritionFood serviceFruitsVegetables
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , April 2004 , pp. 263 - 270
Copyright
Copyright © CAB International 2004

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