Abstract
The purpose of the study is to assess the knowledge on Balanced Nutrition and its practices among pre-school teachers in Subang district, West Java, Indonesia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (before March 2020 vs. October 2021) and to seek differences in the knowledge and practices of teachers who attended nutrition training and those who did not attend any nutrition training. We evaluated the knowledge and practice of 142 teachers based on 10 messages of the 2014 Indonesian Balanced Nutrition Guidelines, using google online survey platform. The top three messages mostly selected by the teachers were consuming a variety of staple foods (87%), drinking adequate and safe water (87%), and eating plenty of vegetables and fruits (86%), while the least selected were enjoying a variety of foods (41%) and reading food labels (28%). A slight increase was found in teachers who consumed fruits daily, while the practice of washing hands before and during the pandemic was statistically and significantly increased (58% to 72%; p < 0.05). A slight decrease was found in teachers who consumed vegetables and animal protein, as well as performed physical exercise daily. Majority of teachers (80%) participated in some kinds of nutrition training in the last four years. The top three gaps of knowledge between trained and non-trained teachers were on physical activity and maintaining ideal body weight (64% vs. 33%; statistically significant at p < 0.05); limit intake of sweet, salty, and fatty food; and consuming high protein food, with the range between 20 to 35 percentage points. We concluded that teachers acquired knowledge on nutrition to some degree, but its application faced limitations during the pandemic. Dissemination of Balanced Nutrition should continue.
Highlights
Worldwide, countries have developed Food-Based Dietary Guideline (FBDG), a country-specific advice on healthy diets and lifestyles based on its public health and nutrition priorities
The purpose of the study is to assess the knowledge on Balanced Nutrition and its practices among pre-school teachers in Subang district, West Java, Indonesia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and to seek differences in the knowledge and practices of teachers who attended nutrition training and those who did not attend any nutrition training
We evaluated the knowledge and practice of 142 teachers based on 10 messages of the 2014 Indonesian Balanced Nutrition Guidelines, using google online survey platform
Summary
Countries have developed Food-Based Dietary Guideline (FBDG), a country-specific advice on healthy diets and lifestyles based on its public health and nutrition priorities. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have been promoting FBDG since 1992 [1]. The guidelines which are found universal across 90 countries are to consume a variety of foods; to consume fruits and vegetables, legumes, and animal-source foods; and to limit sugar, fat, and salt [2]. The WHO guideline on Healthy Diet, which is a more current advice, consists of, among others, to consume fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains, and to limit the consumption of free sugar, fat, and salt [3]. On the contrary red and processed meat intake is above the recommended one serving per week and consumption of sugary drinks increased
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