Eat Healthy Grow Healthy Program to Promote Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Preschoolers (EatGrow)

April 24, 2026 updated by: Texas Woman's University

Eat Healthy, Grow Healthy: Strategies to Promote Fruit and Vegetable Intake Among Preschoolers in Denton County to Prevent Childhood Obesity and Related Health Complications

The Eat Healthy, Grow Healthy (EatGrow) program is a family-based, fully virtual nutrition education intervention designed to improve fruit and vegetable intake among preschool-aged children. Parents and their children participate together in interactive online lessons over eight weeks, including parent-child cooking, taste-testing, and engaging nutrition education. Recruitment was conducted via schools, but schools are not involved in delivering the program. The study measures changes in children's fruit and vegetable intake and willingness to try new foods, as well as parental nutrition literacy, attitudes, and self-efficacy. Weekly tasks are included for engagement.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Childhood obesity is a major public health concern, and increasing fruit and vegetable intake is an effective prevention strategy. The EatGrow study is a family-based, fully virtual intervention targeting preschool-aged children and their parents. Recruitment was conducted via schools; however, schools do not participate in delivering the intervention.

The study has three primary aims:

Aim 1: Assess changes in parental nutrition literacy, attitudes, and self-efficacy regarding incorporating fruits and vegetables into daily meals.

Aim 2: Evaluate the effectiveness of the EatGrow virtual nutrition education intervention in increasing fruit and vegetable intake among preschool-aged children.

Aim 3: Determine whether the intervention reduces food neophobia and increases children's willingness to try a variety of fruits and vegetables.

The intervention is delivered over eight weeks via interactive online modules. Activities include parent-child cooking, taste-testing, and interactive nutrition education. Weekly engagement tasks are included to encourage participation. Outcomes are measured through parent-completed surveys assessing their child's dietary intake and food preferences, as well as parental nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy.

This study aims to provide evidence on the effectiveness of virtual, family-based interventions in promoting healthy eating behaviors and preventing childhood obesity.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

72

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Denton, Texas, United States, 76204
        • Texas Woman's University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Parent or primary caregiver of a preschool-aged child (3 to 5 years old) enrolled at one of the participating schools.
  • Responsible for the home food environment, including meal preparation.
  • Access to a stable internet connection and an internet-enabled device (e.g., "smartphone," tablet, or computer).
  • Willingness to participate in the full intervention and complete weekly tasks.
  • Ability and willingness to purchase ingredients for weekly virtual cooking sessions.
  • Ability to read, speak, and understand English.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Families unable or unwilling to purchase ingredients for weekly recipes.
  • Children or parents/caregivers with known allergies to fruits and/or vegetables.
  • Families without reliable internet access.
  • Parents/caregivers who are unable to read, speak, or understand English.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group
Participants receive the EatGrow intervention: 8 weeks of fully virtual, family-based nutrition education including parent-child cooking, taste-testing, and interactive lessons.
Behavioral: EatGrow Intervention
8-week fully virtual, family-based nutrition education program for parents and preschool-aged children, including parent-child cooking, taste-testing, and interactive nutrition education lessons. Delivered entirely online to promote fruit and vegetable intake and reduce food neophobia.
Other: Delayed control group
Participants have delayed access to the EatGrow intervention after post-intervention data collection.
Behavioral: Delayed access
Control group participants receive delayed access to the EatGrow intervention after post-intervention data collection. No nutrition lessons or tasks are provided during the study period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Child fruit and vegetable intake
Time Frame: Baseline to 8 weeks (post-intervention)
Measured using parent-completed surveys assessing the frequency and quantity of fruit and vegetable intake among preschool-aged children.
Baseline to 8 weeks (post-intervention)
Child willingness to try new fruits and vegetables
Time Frame: Baseline to 8 weeks (post-intervention)
Measured using parent-completed surveys assessing food neophobia and willingness to try a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Baseline to 8 weeks (post-intervention)
Parental nutrition literacy, attitudes, and self-efficacy
Time Frame: Baseline to 8 weeks (post-intervention)
Measured using parent-reported surveys assessing changes in nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in incorporating fruits and vegetables into daily meals.
Baseline to 8 weeks (post-intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Texas Woman's University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Kathleen E Davis, PhD, RDN, LD, Texas Woman's University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 13, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 10, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 19, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 19, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 27, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 30, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 24, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • EatGrow-RCT-2026

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared due to the inclusion of sensitive information involving parent-child dyads and to protect participant confidentiality in accordance with IRB guidelines.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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