Impacts of a School-Based Intervention That Incorporates Nutrition Education and a Supportive Healthy School Canteen Environment among Primary School Children in Malaysia.

Choon Huey Teo,Yit Siew Chin,Poh Ying Lim,Shahril Azian Haji Masrom,Zalilah Mohd Shariff

doi:10.3390/nu13051712

Choon Huey Teo, Yit Siew Chin + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13051712

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Journal: Nutrients	Publication Date: May 18, 2021
Citations: 12	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Ministry of Health, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Abstract

In this study, a school nutrition program (SNP) that incorporates nutrition education and a healthy school canteen environment was developed to improve nutrition knowledge among intervention respondents and provide a healthier environment for them to practice healthy eating. In the current study, we evaluated the impacts of the SNP on eating behaviors, physical activity, body mass index-for-age (BAZ), and cognitive performance at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up points between intervention and comparison groups. This intervention study involved 523 primary school children (7–11 years old) from six selected schools in Batu Pahat District, Malaysia. Each respondent completed anthropometric and cognitive performance assessments and a set of standardized questionnaire at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up points. Multiple linear mixed model analysis was performed to determine the impacts of that SNP after being adjusted for covariates. After the program, the intervention group increased their frequency of breakfast, lunch, and dinner consumption and morning tea snacking and showed more frequent physical activity and better cognitive performance as compared to the comparison group overtime (p < 0.05). At 3-month follow-up, the intervention group showed lower BAZ scores than their comparison counterparts (p < 0.05). The SNP showed positive effects on eating behaviors, physical activity, BAZ, and cognitive performance in school children. Hence, the SNP is highly recommended for all primary school children.

Highlights

IntroductionThe South East Asia Nutrition Survey of Malaysian Children (SEANUTS Malaysia) reported that the prevalence of overnutrition was 21.6% among children aged 7–12 years in year 2013, which was higher than the prevalence of undernutrition 13.8% [2]
This paper aims to report the effectiveness of the school nutrition program (SNP) on the eating behavior, physical activity, body composition, and cognitive performance among Malaysian primary school children
The present results demonstrated that the prevalence of obesity among intervention group (IG) reduced from 17.1% to 15.1% after 3-month follow-up, which is probably explained by the intentions of the children to control their weight using the knowledge and skills gained in the SNP and being supported by the healthy school canteen environment

Summary

Introduction

The South East Asia Nutrition Survey of Malaysian Children (SEANUTS Malaysia) reported that the prevalence of overnutrition was 21.6% among children aged 7–12 years in year 2013, which was higher than the prevalence of undernutrition 13.8% [2]. Health Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019 reported that the prevalence of overnutrition had increased to 29.8%, while the prevalence of undernutrition was 22.7% among children aged 5–17 years in the year 2019 [3]. The double burden of malnutrition problems in Malaysia [2,3,4,5,6] may affect the growth and development of children in later life. Action should be taken to combat the double burden of malnutrition in Malaysia, especially overweight and obesity problems among children

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