Conclusions
metabolic diseases, metabolic disease
METABOLIC DISEASES, METABOLIC DISEASE
In conclusion, the present RCT showed that a school-based gardening, nutrition, and cooking intervention resulted in a small, albeit significant, improvement in glycemic control and a reduction in LDL cholesterol in predominately low-income and racially diverse elementary schoolchildren. Given that there is a critical need to reduce obesity-related metabolic disease in children, especially in low-income and Hispanic populations, this intervention has the potential to be implemented and scaled across the US. Teaching garden-based nutrition education programs allows public schools to meet nutrition education state mandates, while potentially reaching nearly 24 million kindergarten through fifth grade children in the US. School-based gardening programs improve dietary intake, academic performance, and reduce metabolic diseases in even the most high-risk minority pediatric populations. These findings provide direct evidence to help encourage policy makers, administrators, and school district personnel to adopt and/or support garden-based learning into elementary schools.