(OR11-01-26) Intervention Snacking Compliance in the Ongoing Integrated Child Activity and Nutrition Study Among School-Aged Children From Underserved Backgrounds

Objectives: To describe the snack consumption and compliance during a school-based summer nutrition and physical activity intervention for children from communities affected by poverty.

Methods: The eight-week intervention (June-August 2025) was conducted in a public elementary school and targeted children aged 6-11 years from households eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This multi-year program aimed to prevent summer learning loss through daily (Monday-Friday 8:30 AM–3:30 PM) nutrition education, structured physical activity, and academic learning using a social-emotional learning framework. Participants were offered morning and afternoon snacks aiming to provide at least 6 mg/day of the carotenoid lutein. Recipe examples included avocado spinach toast, smoothies, spinach meatballs, sweet potato waffles, egg bites, kale bites, and spinach quiche. Daily snack consumption compliance was recorded per participant as “consumed all,” “consumed some,” and “did not eat,” coded numerically as 3, 2, and 1, respectively. Higher scores indicated greater consumption. Individual snack consumption scores were calculated as daily score means over the program duration. Descriptive analyses and Pearson correlations were conducted.

Results: Among the intervention participants (n = 27, 59.3% male, 8.6 ± 1.5 y), the average snack consumption score was 2.0 ± 0.3 (out of 3), ranging from 1.10 to 2.51. Of all snacking occasions, 21% resulted in complete consumption, 24.3% in partial consumption, and 21.6% in no consumption. Spinach meat balls, sweet potato waffles, and smoothies were the most accepted recipes. The consumption compliance significantly decreased over the eight-week program period (r = -0.58, p = 0.003).

Conclusions: On average, participants consumed at least some portion of the provided snacks throughout the intervention. However, the observed decline in consumption over time highlights the challenges of maintaining participant engagement in extended nutrition interventions. These findings suggest that engagement strategies such as repeated exposure, menu variations, or increased participant choice may be necessary to maintain compliance and enhance the effectiveness of nutrition interventions in children.

Funding Sources: The U.S. Department of Agriculture