Using Reinforcement Schedules to Increase Fruit&Vegetable Intake, Reduce Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation

Using Reinforcement Schedules to Improve Carotenoid Levels, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation in El Paso

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT05633251

Enrollment

1626

Registered

2022-12-01

Start date

2015-09-14

Completion date

2016-05-06

Last updated

2022-12-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Behavioral Changes, Nutrition, Psychology, Social

Keywords

fruit, vegetable, food waste

Brief summary

Using small monetary rewards to reinforce healthy behaviors, such as the consumption of fruits and vegetables (F&V), the investigators tested fixed and variable reinforcement schedules in three middle schools. The investigators measured carotenoid levels, as a biomarker of F&V intake, and F&V waste over the intervention time frame. The investigators also tracked the school lunch participation rates over time.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALVariable (random) interval

Using Variable (Random) Interval Reinforcement Schedules to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation

BEHAVIORALVariable (non-random) interval

Using Variable (Non-random) Interval Reinforcement Schedules to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation

BEHAVIORALVariable (random) interval with table tents

Using Variable (Random) Interval Reinforcement Schedules and Table Tents with Health-related Messages to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Reduce Fruit and Vegetable Waste, and Increase School Lunch Participation

BEHAVIORALControl

No intervention

Study design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE (Subject)

Masking description

Participants were not aware of the purpose of the intervention.

Intervention model description

Number of participants below is best estimate of students exposed to the intervention based on school lunch participation rates.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

11 Years to 16 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* students attending three participating middle schools (Ysleta Independent School District)

Exclusion criteria

* N/A

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Change in food waste	24 weeks	Daily fruit, vegetable, and other food waste (in lbs)
Change in fruit and vegetable intake	12 weeks	As measured by carotenoid level, a biomarker for total fruit and vegetable intake; measured before and after the intervention

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
School lunch participation rates	32 weeks	Number of participants in the school lunch program

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026