The FIT Game: preliminary evaluation of a gamification approach to increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in school

Abstract Objective Incentive-based interventions designed to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption tend to yield positive, short-term outcomes. Because consumption most often returns to baseline levels when incentives are removed, sustainable long-duration interventions may be needed to impa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Preventive medicine 2014-11, Vol.68, p.76-79
Main Authors: Jones, Brooke A, Madden, Gregory J, Wengreen, Heidi J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Choice Behavior
Elementary school
Faculty
Feeding Behavior - psychology
Food Preferences - psychology
Food Services
Fruit
Fruit and vegetable consumption
Games, Experimental
Gamification
Health Behavior
Health Promotion - methods
Humans
Incentives
Internal Medicine
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Motivation
Prevention and actions
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Schools
Utah
Vegetables
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Summary:Abstract Objective Incentive-based interventions designed to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption tend to yield positive, short-term outcomes. Because consumption most often returns to baseline levels when incentives are removed, sustainable long-duration interventions may be needed to impact public health. Anticipating that low-cost interventions will be more appealing to schools, the present study explored a low-cost, game-based intervention. Method An alternating-treatments design was used to evaluate the effects of the FIT Game on objectively measured FV consumption in one elementary school ( n = 251) in Utah. During the Fall 2013 semester, game-based rewards were provided to heroic characters within a fictional narrative read by teachers on days when the school, as a whole, met a fruit or vegetable consumption goal in accord with the alternating-treatments design. Results On intervention days, fruit and vegetable consumption increased by 39% and 33%, ( p < 0.01, p < 0.05; binomial tests), respectively. Teacher surveys indicated that students enjoyed the game and grade 1–3 teachers recommended its use in other schools. Conclusion This game-based intervention provides a promising step towards developing a low-cost, effective, and sustainable FV intervention that schools can implement without outside assistance.
ISSN:0091-7435
1096-0260
DOI:10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.04.015