Impact of school garden programs on health and academic outcomes

Although school-based gardening programs for children have consistently been associated with improvements in dietary behaviors, very few randomized controlled studies (RCTs) have evaluated the effects of gardening interventions on clinical health or metabolic outcomes. In this talk, Dr. Davis will highlight the effects of a one-year school-based gardening, nutrition, and cooking intervention (called TX Sprouts) on dietary intake, obesity parameters, metabolic outcomes, and academic performance in over 3,000 primarily low-income and Hispanic elementary school children. In addition, Dr. Davis will also discuss the barriers and strategies needed to sustain and maintain school gardening programs based on implementation data from over 500 schoolteachers across the US.