Milk in schools: an experiment in nutrition education

Abstract

1. An experiment was conducted with 4600 children in nine schools, in which an attempt was made to persuade a greater number of children to take school milk. The proportion taking the milk before the experiment ranged from about 25 to 65%.2. Four methods of nutrition education were used: posters, lectures and films each in two schools, and pamphlets in one school. The remaining two schools acted as controls.3. The material was used for one term in all seven ‘experimental’ schools, and again for the following term in one of the schools receiving each of the different forms of education.4. Although it appears that there was a small increase in the number of children that said they would take milk, there was no significant increase in the number that did in fact do so, in either the first or the first or the second term.5. The analysis of the possible causes for this failure to increase milk consumption suggests that nutrition education does not affect dietary behaviour if the factors that limit consumption are sufficiently strong.