Impact of School Garden Participation on the Health Behaviors of Children

Urban Farm DB summary

This systematic review searched Web of Knowledge and SCOPUS in April 2015 and examined 14 studies on the impact of garden-based interventions on nutritional knowledge, fruit and vegetable consumption, taste preferences, physical activity, and math/science achievement; 11 studies covered dietary outcomes, 2 examined physical activity, and 2 assessed math and science achievement. Findings indicate that school gardening programs that include a nutritional component are more likely to increase participants' nutritional knowledge, fruit and vegetable consumption, and range of taste preferences. The review concludes that combining an educational curriculum with gardening activities is an effective strategy for improving attitudes toward healthy food and healthy dietary behaviors.