Effectiveness of a Food Preparation and Nutrition Education Program for Children

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME: To identify effective components of a nutrition education curriculum that assists children in improving their dietary behaviors by helping them select and prepare low cost, nutritious foods. Evidence suggests that dietary behavior is established in childhood. Poor dietary behaviors may lead to chronic diseases or health conditions during adulthood. Therefore, an early adoption of good dietary behavior is important. The objective of this study was to develop, implement, and test the effectiveness of a youth nutrition, food preparation, and food safety curriculum designed to modify and improve the dietary behavior of children. Intervention included half day sessions held over one week during the summer and was conducted by trained workers. Sessions included hands on activities and food preparation methods. Pre-, post-, and follow-up tests were used to evaluate the effectiveness. Analyses of the evaluation tools were done with frequency distribution, paired t test, and McNemar's test. Classes were conducted at 15 sites in a rural Midwestern area. The 227 participants ranged in age from 8 to 12 years old. The average class size was 14 (range 7 to 24). The subjects were primarily from low income households. Following the intervention, a higher percentage of the subjects reported to follow safe food practices, to prepare food items, and to select nutritious foods according to the food guide pyramid ( p<.001). The children continued to report these behaviors after 3 months ( p<.05). The average pretest score was 4.72 (out of 9) and improved significantly on the post-test to 7.01 ( p<.001, paired t test). After 3 months, the average score on the follow-up test (n=132) was 7.12, significantly higher than the pretest ( p<.001, paired t test). Results illustrate the effectiveness of intervention focusing on food safety, food preparation, and food selection in youth. This study supports intervention strategies for young children for the promotion of healthy food behaviors.