Healthy eating programmes helped young adults eat more fruit and vegetables
The review
Who took part
The review pooled 17 studies of healthy young adults. It did not report how many people took part in total.
What they did
People got lifestyle programmes, mostly aimed at eating more fruit and vegetables. The programmes mixed several methods, such as setting goals, planning when and how to act, and being shown how to eat differently. The other groups got a mix of different things.
What happened
People in the programmes said they ate about 70 grams more fruit and vegetables a day. This was measured up to three months after the start. Many studies had a high risk of bias or did not give enough detail to judge. There were signs that studies with smaller gains went unpublished, and the authors did not rate how sure they were.
- Helped
Across 17 studies, programmes with goals and plans helped young adults eat more fruit and vegetables than the other groups.
Pooled analysis of 17 studies · vs a mix of different other groups · they rated themselves · ⚠ signs that small negative studies went unpublished; whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited
Source
Effectiveness of Interventions and Behaviour Change Techniques for Improving Dietary Intake in Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of RCTs (2019)
DOI: 10.3390/nu11040825 (opens in a new tab)
