Abstract
The aims were to examine change in nutrition and physical activity knowledge, self efficacy and attitudes in a cohort of 23 teachers and 304 year 5 and 6 children after the “Healthy Active Kids” online program and to assess any behavioral change in children’s self reported nutrition and physical activity behaviors and investigate the predictors of nutrition knowledge gain in teachers and children. Results found significant (p < 0.0001) increases in teacher and student knowledge of the five food groups; key nutrients provided by each food group, The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating; food labelling laws, identification of common names for fats, sugars and salts on food labels, food proportions on the Healthy Food Plate and the level and percentage of water in the human body and human brain. Teacher attitudes towards the importance of nutrition and diet and self efficacy related to teaching nutrition in class improved (p < 0.01). The final regression model for predictors of the dependent variable, knowledge gain in students was R = 0.53, Adjusted R square = 0.28 (F = 4.76, p < 0.01) indicating that 28% of the variation in knowledge gain was predicted by the negative (low) Time 1 knowledge. Changes to eating habits reported by children were “drinking more water each day” (89.1%) and “eating foods from the five food groups each day” (76.2%); “sharing information about food labels with your family” (52.4%); “reading food labels when you go shopping” (50.0%); “changing what is on your dinner plate each night” (44.2%); “vegetables that you eat now that you didn’t eat before” (42.1%) and “fruits that you eat now” (39%). Results suggest that the development of basic nutrition knowledge is still very important for both teachers and students, but that other factors such as self efficacy, empowerment and skill development also contribute to nutrition behavior change in children.
Highlights
Questionnaires were completed by 23 teachers (100% of teachers who participated in the Healthy Active Kids (HAK) professional development day) and 301 students at Time 1
The final regression model for predictors of the dependent variable, knowledge gain in students was R = 0.53, Adjusted R square = 0.28 (F = 4.76, p < 0.01) indicating that 28% of the variation in knowledge gain was predicted by the negative Time 1 knowledge variables included in the model
The findings indicate that the nutrition education program has a huge impact on the nutritional knowledge of both teachers and students under the categories of the 5 food groups, key nutrients provided by each food group, The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating; food labelling laws, identification of common names for fats, sugars and salts on food labels, food proportions on the Healthy Food Plate and the level and percentage of water in the human body and human brain
Summary
The benefits of a nutritious diet for children and adolescents have been well documented in the research literature over many decades, yet many children currently living in Westernised countries do not receive an adequate nutrient intake and are deficient in a diet containing adequate fruits, vegetables, milk, dairy foods and iron-containing foods [1] [2].Research examining child nutrition data from Australia [3], the United Kingdom [4], and the USA [5], for example, illustrates a continuing pattern of long-term inadequacies in the diets of primary school children.Many factors are responsible for poor diet and low nutrient intakes in schoolchildren in Westernised countries, and these include social, cultural, economic and educational factors [6]-[9] as well as the role of nutrition knowledge during pregnancy [10] and many intergenerational family factors including intrapersonal, interpersonal, and communicative factors [11].Recent research published by Jones and Zidenberg in the USA (2015) [12] explored the barriers to nutrition education, nutrition education resources used, and the relationship between nutrition knowledge in public school teachers in California.The study identified two major barriers to teaching nutrition in the classroom, namely, a lack of instructional time and that nutrition was perceived as an unrelated subject. Many factors are responsible for poor diet and low nutrient intakes in schoolchildren in Westernised countries, and these include social, cultural, economic and educational factors [6]-[9] as well as the role of nutrition knowledge during pregnancy [10] and many intergenerational family factors including intrapersonal, interpersonal, and communicative factors [11]. Recent research published by Jones and Zidenberg in the USA (2015) [12] explored the barriers to nutrition education, nutrition education resources used, and the relationship between nutrition knowledge in public school teachers in California. The study identified two major barriers to teaching nutrition in the classroom, namely, a lack of instructional time and that nutrition was perceived as an unrelated subject. Nutrition knowledge was not associated with nutrition lessons but it was positively associated with teaching high school and female gender, and negatively associated with identifying as Hispanic or Latino [12]
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