Final Results from the CHERRY Project
October 2012
The Cherry Project (“Choosing Healthy Eating when Really Young”) was developed by researchers at
University College London and Plymouth University, with funding from the Food Standards Agency and
support from the Department of Health. The aim of the study was to develop and pilot a family centred
nutrition intervention to be delivered in children’s centres.
We spent the first year of the study reviewing the evidence, collating resources and consulting with local
stakeholders about how to support families with healthy eating. This included focus groups and questionnaire
surveys with parents and children’s centre staff. We used the information gathered to develop Cherry – an
interactive, practical course for parents and children delivered in four weekly sessions.
Cherry was piloted in children’s centres in Islington as well as Cornwall, a rural county in SW England, to
represent diverse communities across the UK. The intervention was delivered in 4 centres in Islington
between October 2010 and November 2011 and evaluated using the randomised controlled trial (RCT)
method. We assessed children’s diets at baseline and six months, and asked parents questions about their
diets and attitudes towards food.
Results
Families who attended Cherry (intervention group) experienced greater changes over the six month period,
compared to families who did not attend Cherry (control group). This table shows the main differences
between the groups in Islington.
Child outcomes
Effect of intervention
Actual difference*
Fruit and vegetables
Increased
+54g per day
Sugary drinks
Decreased
-81 ml per day
Sugary snacks
Decreased
-0.41 occasions per day
Parent outcomes
Effect of intervention
Actual difference*
Fruit
Decreased
-75g per day
Vegetables
Increased
+53g per day
Sugary drinks
Decreased
-90ml per day
Sugary foods
Decreased
-0.13 portions per day
*This is the difference between the change observed in the intervention group and the change observed in
the control group.
These improvements show that Cherry made a positive difference to children’s diets, increasing fruit and
vegetables by more than a portion and reducing sugary drinks consumption. Anecdotal feedback also showed
that parents found the course helpful and they perceived improvements in healthy eating behaviours by
successfully introducing new foods to their children, learning new cooking skills and recipes and gaining
confidence in feeding their children. Children’s centre staff also reported that Cherry had helped some staff
members to make positive changes to their diets which subsequently filtered down to the children attending
the nursery. In Cornwall, some changes were found in children’s diets after six months but the differences
found were smaller and not significant.
Although there were some changes to parents’ diets, these differences were smaller than those seen in
children and not significant; the only differences to note were that vegetables increased by half a portion and
sugary drinks decreased. We believe that most of the change for parents was seen in their perceived levels
of knowledge and confidence around food; parents reported that they knew how to make healthier food
choices and cook from scratch, felt better able to read and understand food labels, and were eating less
sugary and salty snacks as a result of attending the course.
Future work
This pilot study will be used to develop further interventions to help families to eat well; applications for further
funding to continue this work are currently being submitted. Cherry: A Guide for Trainers which contains
detailed information and guidance on how to run the course in similar settings, has been produced and will be
available in the coming weeks on the UCL website.
Additional resources, more detailed results and an
evaluation of the study will also be available. If you would like a copy of any of these documents, or have any
further questions about the study, please contact the research leader, Professor Richard Watt on
r.watt@ucl.ac.uk