Sustainability via Active Garden Education (SAGE): results from two feasibility pilot studies
Lee R.E., Parker N.H., Soltero E.G., Ledoux T., Hernandez I., Sahnoune I.
BMC Public Health, 17:242
Urban Farm DB summary
Piloted SAGE—a 12-session garden education program with songs, games, taste tests and garden care—for 89 children aged 3–5 in six early care and education centers across two US cities, evaluating reach, efficacy and implementation using the RE-AIM framework for PA and fruit and vegetable intake.
Key points
- 1Children significantly increased physical activity (PA) during SAGE lessons compared to usual lessons.
- 2Children consumed more calories in the absence of hunger in post- vs. pre-intervention tests.
- 3Parent reports did not suggest changes in fruit and vegetable consumption, parenting PA practices, or home fruit and vegetable availability, possibly due to low parent engagement.
- 4Early care and education centers (ECEC) showed moderate-to-high implementation of SAGE lessons, and parents rated SAGE favorably, indicating strong potential for program sustainability.
- 5SAGE successfully translated national physical activity guidelines to practice for young children but was less successful with nutrition guidelines, highlighting the need for further parent and family engagement.
Extracted facts
6 factsOnly numbers and their conditions are stored, as structured data — never the source's own sentences. Metric and condition names stay in English, as coded.
- 89
participant count(preschool child)
Healthn = 89- region
- US
- setting
- early-care-and-education-centers
- study design
- feasibility-pilot
- age
- 3-5-years
- cities
- two
- 6
site count(early care and education center)
Health- region
- US
- study design
- feasibility-pilot
- cities
- two
- 12
session count(sage program)
Health- session length
- one-hour
- content
- songs-games-garden-maintenance-taste-tests
- higher during sage lessons↑ IncreaseStatistically significant
physical activity(preschool child)
Healthn = 89Control: usual lessons- region
- US
- setting
- early-care-and-education-centers
- measure
- accelerometer
- p reported
- p<.05
- more calories post intervention↑ IncreaseStatistically significant
eating in absence of hunger(preschool child)
Healthn = 89Control: pre-intervention test- region
- US
- setting
- early-care-and-education-centers
- p reported
- p<.05
- no reported change→ No change
fruit vegetable consumption(parent report)
HealthControl: pre-intervention parent reports- region
- US
- setting
- early-care-and-education-centers
- note
- low-parent-engagement
Direction of conclusions
Each author conclusion is recorded only as a coded direction per topic. Read the original for the conclusion itself.
- Education and learningMixedWith caveats
- Nutrition and healthMixedWith caveats
Abstract and stored text
OpenAlexBACKGROUND: Low physical activity (PA) and fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption in early childhood are continued public health challenges. This manuscript describes outcomes from two pilot studies for Sustainability via Active Garden Education (SAGE), a program designed to increase PA and F&V consumption among 3 to 5 year old children. METHODS: SAGE was developed using community-based participatory research (CBPR) and delivered to children (N = 89) in early care and education centers (ECEC, N = 6) in two US cities. Children participated in 12 one-hour sessions that included songs, games, and interactive learning activities involving garden maintenance and taste tests. We evaluated reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation, and potential for maintenance of SAGE following the RE-AIM framework. Reach was evaluated by comparing demographic characteristics among SAGE participants and residents of target geographic areas. Efficacy was evaluated with accelerometer-measured PA, F&V consumption, and eating in the absence of hunger among children, parenting practices regarding PA, and home availability of F&V. Adoption was evaluated by the number of ECEC that participated relative to the number of ECEC that were recruited. Implementation was evaluated by completion rates of planned SAGE lessons and activities, and potential for maintenance was evaluated with a parent satisfaction survey. RESULTS: SAGE reached ECEC in neighborhoods representing a wide range of socioeconomic status, with participants' sociodemographic characteristics representing those of the intervention areas. Children significantly increased PA during SAGE lessons compared to usual lessons, but they also consumed more calories in the absence of hunger in post- vs. pre-intervention tests (both p < .05). Parent reports did not suggest changes in F&V consumption, parenting PA practices, or home F&V availability, possibly due to low parent engagement. ECEC had moderate-to-high implementation of SAGE lessons and curriculum. Potential for maintenance was strong, with parents rating SAGE favorably and reporting increases in knowledge about PA and nutrition guidelines for young children. CONCLUSIONS: SAGE successfully translated national PA guidelines to practice for young children but was less successful with nutrition guidelines. High adoption and implementation and favorable parent reports suggest high potential for program sustainability. Further work to engage parents and families of young children in ECEC-based PA and nutrition programming is needed.
Why it matters for urban farming
This study highlights the potential of garden-based education programs like SAGE to increase physical activity in young children, a key benefit for urban farms looking to engage families. While direct nutritional intake changes were not observed, the high parent satisfaction and knowledge gain suggest that urban farms can be effective platforms for educating parents about healthy lifestyles. It also points to the need for urban farms to actively involve parents to maximize the impact on children's dietary habits.