Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35224419›Full record

ArticleCurrent developments in nutrition2022

Do Behavioral Interventions Increase the Intake of Biofortified Foods in School Lunch Meals? Evidence from a Field Experiment with Elementary School Children in Ethiopia.

Julius J Okello, David R Just, Wellington Jogo, Norman Kwikiriza, Haile Tesfaye

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Current developments in nutrition, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Julius J OkelloInternational Potato Centre, Kampala, Uganda.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2217-2770
David R JustThe Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Wellington JogoInternational Potato Centre, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Norman KwikirizaInternational Potato Centre, Kampala, Uganda.
Haile TesfayeInternational Potato Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMany African countries are seeking to improve nutrition by introducing biofortified foods in school feeding programs. These programs are generally designed to create demand for biofortified foods both in and outside of school. Finding ways to encourage child acceptance of novel biofortified foods is key to the success of this strategy.

objectivesThe aim was to assess effects of 2 behavioral interventions in promoting the consumption of biofortified foods as part of school lunch meals.

methodsThe study is based on a field experiment involving 360 school-going children of in the third, fourth, and sixth grades. We tested if structured provision of information about the nutritional benefits of a biofortified food and its association with an aspirational figure influence its consumption when served alongside a favorite local food as part of school lunch meal. Six schools in Tigray, Ethiopia, were randomly selected to participate, with 4 participating in the Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato (OFSP) Program. Of the 4 participating in the program, 2 were assigned to provide educational information about sweetpotato, whereas 2 presented the same information plus depictions of an aspirational figure (a famous local athlete) associated with the sweetpotato.

resultsProvision of information on the nutritional benefits of biofortified food combined with an aspirational figure resulted in increased consumption of biofortified food by children. However, provision of the information alone did not detectably increase consumption. An analysis of trends over the course of the study revealed no discernable decay effect.

conclusionsOur results highlight the potential for relatively inexpensive behavioral interventions to increase acceptance of novel biofortified foods among children in a developing-country context. Larger studies with more varied interventions and larger numbers of participating schools could address several of the weaknesses in this study and establish more robust findings.

Indexed as

acceptancebehavioral nudgesbiofortified foodsEthiopiapromotionschool childrenschool lunch meals

Identifiers

PMID35224419
PMCPMC8866104

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