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

• Published in: Public health nutrition Vol. 7; no. 2; pp. 263 - 270
• Main Authors: Lassen, Anne, Thorsen, Anne Vibeke, Trolle, Ellen, Elsig, Mette, Ovesen, Lars
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.04.2004
• Subjects: Adult; adults; Analysis of Variance; cafeterias; Consumer Behavior; Customer services; Data collection; Denmark; Diet; Diet - standards; Female; Follow-Up Studies; food choices; food intake; Food service; Food Services; Food Services - standards; food serving methods; Fruit; Fruits; Goal setting; Health care; Health Promotion; Humans; industrial food service; lunch; Male; menu planning; Military bases; Nutrition; nutritional adequacy; Public private partnerships; Quality improvement; Restaurants; Vegetables; weight; working conditions; Workplace; Denmark; Food service; Vegetables; Workplace; Nutrition; Fruits
• ISSN: 1368-9800; 1475-2727
• DOI: 10.1079/PHN2003532

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. 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). Five workplaces in Denmark: a military base, an electronic component distributor, a bank, a town hall and a waste-handling facility. Work-site canteen managers, staff and customers. 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). 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.