Strong evidence demonstrates school-based interventions combining physical activity and nutrition have a beneficial effect on children’s obesity. This paper describes adaptations made to a longstanding nutrition program to incorporate daily physical activity practices, and its influence on program reach and impact.
The Crunch&Sip® program, delivered by Cancer Council WA and funded by Healthway is a primary school nutrition program facilitating healthy eating. A new initiative (‘Crunch & Move’) was trialed to encourage students to eat vegetables only and add an element of physical activity, delivered in classrooms by teachers, for one month. Strategic efforts to recruit more WA primary schools were implemented in 2025. This included organic promotions across multiple channels including, social media platforms, stakeholder networks, and targeted electronic direct mailouts (EDMs). Cancer Council WA developed a suite of resources, including physical activity dice, yoga cards, and classroom prizes, made freely available in print and digital formats upon registration. Teachers were surveyed on frequency of using resources and their usefulness and provided an estimate of the proportion of children in their class who: crunched on vegetables on most days of the event; and participated in movement breaks on most days of the event.
We found promotional efforts were successful in extending reach and uptake of the initiative in 2025. EDM metrics reported open rates between 27 to 42 per cent. Overall, Crunch & Move saw a 44 per cent increase in registered students (n=10,217), a 112 per cent increase in registered schools (n=117) and a 71 per cent increase in registered classrooms (n=416). Teacher surveys are currently in field and results will be presented.
Program adaptations to encourage more movement alongside healthy eating opportunities improved reach and uptake. Future objectives include refining methodological approach and measurement of daily vegetable consumption and movement participation to assess effectiveness for children’s heath.