Hands-On Gardening in Childcare Centers to Advance Preschool-Age Children’s Fruit and Vegetable Liking in Semi-Arid Climate Zone

Muntazar Monsur (), Mohaimen Mansur (), Nazia Afrin Trina and Nilda Cosco
Additional contact information
Muntazar Monsur: Department of Landscape Architecture (DoLA), Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University, 2904 15th St., Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Mohaimen Mansur: Institute of Statistical Research and Training (ISRT), University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Nazia Afrin Trina: Department of Landscape Architecture (DoLA), Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University, 2904 15th St., Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Nilda Cosco: Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, College of Design, North Carolina State University, 50 Pullen Road, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: Hands-on gardening is linked with healthy eating behaviors, increased outdoor activities, and overall well-being, all contributing factors to preventing obesity. Although these positive associations are widely established for adults and school-aged children, little evidence can be found on how such relationships may extend to early childhood, especially in the preschool years (3–5 years). One recent study conducted in North Carolina (NC) showed that participating in hands-on gardening significantly increased preschoolers’ accurate identification of fruits and vegetables (FV) and FV consumption compared to children who did not participate in hands-on gardening, but no association was found between participation in hands-on gardening and the children’s liking (eating preferences) of FV. FV identification and liking during the early years may lead to lifelong healthy eating behaviors and preferences, making hands-on gardening a critical health intervention in early childhood environments, especially in childcare centers where a majority of the 13 million children in the United States between the ages of 0 and 5 spend most of their waking hours. This research aimed to investigate how hands-on gardening in childcare centers may impact preschoolers’ (3–5 years old) FV knowledge (identification) and liking in a semi-arid climate zone with a high concentration of Hispanic families by conducting experimental research with eight childcare centers and one hundred forty-nine children ( n = 149) in Lubbock County, located in West Texas. The findings showed changes in average liking scores are generally positive in the experimental group of children who participated in hands-on gardening (compared to the control non-gardening group), implying an improved liking. The findings indicate that the benefits of hands-on gardening in childcare centers for enhancing healthy eating preferences are evident even in a semi-arid climate zone, where high temperatures and limited rainfall present significant gardening challenges. This research underscores the importance of integrating hands-on gardening into childcare programs, highlighting its potential as an effective obesity prevention strategy not only within the US but also in other regions with similar environmental constraints.

Keywords: gardening; childcare; fruit and vegetable (FV) liking; FV knowledge; preschool-age children or preschoolers; obesity; semi-arid climate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/11/1485/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/11/1485/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:11:p:1485-:d:1516343

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().