How gardening and cooking at school could help children’s health

By Pol Allingham via SWNS

Gardening and cooking at school could manage children's blood sugar and reduce bad cholesterol, suggests a new study.

Several elementary schools built outdoor spaces and set up gardening, nutrition and cooking courses for children and parents.

They discovered the intervention helped improve glucose control and reduced bad cholesterol in high-risk minority youth.

The University of Texas at Austin recruited 16 low-income schools for the study.

Over one nine-month year in half of the schools, groups known as Texas Sprouts formed Garden Leadership Committees and built quarter-acre outdoor teaching gardens.

Trained educators then gave the kids 18 lessons in gardening, nutrition and cooking lessons.

Parents received nine lessons a month too.

Meanwhile, the other set of schools waited a year to implement the Texas Sprouts regime.

Each school had a majority Hispanic student population and were from Austin, and the decision to put them under Texas Sprouts this year or next was random.

Senior author Professor Adriana Pérez said: “The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends 2.5 cups of vegetables per day for children nine to 13 years old.

“Texas Sprouts incorporates nutrition, gardening, and cooking components that improved glucose control and reduced bad cholesterol in children.”

The team measured students’ height, weight, body mass index (BMI).

Blood draws measured the children’s glucose, insulin, insulin resistance and lipid panel - a test deducing the amount of lipid fat molecules in the blood.

Texas Sprouts schools saw a 0.02 percent reduction in mean blood sugar levels over the past three months, otherwise known as HbA1c.

There was also a 6.4 mg/dL reduction in bad cholesterol, suggesting a reduced risk of diabetes and pre-diabetes.

No effects on glucose, insulin, insulin resistance or other lipid parameters were found.

Pérez said their research, published in JAMA Network Open, showed schools should start helping kids’ health through gardening.

Pérez added: “Small increases in dietary fiber and vegetable intake, as well as reductions in added sugar intake, may have combined effects on lowering bad cholesterol and improving glucose control.”