Abstract
In NSW, Australia, the views of primary-school aged children and their parents in regard to the importance of nutrition education at school are unclear. The aim of the current study was to explore children’s knowledge of nutrition and eating habits and to identify gaps that future school nutrition education programs could target. Students aged 9 to 12 years and their parents (n = 21 dyads) were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews, complete a nutrition knowledge questionnaire, and perform a “healthy-unhealthy” food sorting task in a University food laboratory. Among the children, nutrition knowledge scores concerning “serves & portions” of common foods were lowest, identifying a gap in knowledge related to portion size. All children categorized fruits, vegetables, cola, and water correctly as “healthy” or “unhealthy” in the sorting task, but not for the sausage and muesli bar, suggesting that further support categorising processed foods may be needed. The interviews indicated that parents do actively try to teach their children about nutrition, although they reported feeling uncertain about their own level of nutrition knowledge. Children and parents indicated that there is very little nutrition education in school and more is needed. This research could be used to inform future curriculum components related to nutrition education for primary school children.
Highlights
Good nutrition in children is important for well-being, school performance [1,2], and prevention of chronic diseases such as obesity, type-2 diabetes, and some cancers [3,4]
School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS) 2015 reported that undesirable eating behaviours such as snacking on unhealthy foods and breakfast skipping are common among children and that these behaviours were more prevalent during adolescence [6]
To prevent poor dietary habits and excessive weight gain, targeting nutrition knowledge among primary school aged children has been proposed as an approach that can contribute to establishing healthy eating habits among adolescents [6,17]
Summary
Good nutrition in children is important for well-being, school performance [1,2], and prevention of chronic diseases such as obesity, type-2 diabetes, and some cancers [3,4]. Eating (AGHE) recommending that no more than three serves, or roughly 10%–20% (depending on age, height, and activity level) of daily energy consumed, should come from discretionary foods [7]. This dietary imbalance could lead to an excessive energy balance, inadequate nutrient intake [8], and higher intakes of sodium, added sugars, and saturated fat [9]. To prevent poor dietary habits and excessive weight gain, targeting nutrition knowledge among primary school aged children has been proposed as an approach that can contribute to establishing healthy eating habits among adolescents [6,17]. Eight of the 13 studies reported statistical significances of p < 0.001 in improving nutrition knowledge levels, with three displaying large effect sizes [18]
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