Abstract
To evaluate the potential benefits on students' eating habits, of incorporating healthy nutrition education as part of a school food aid program. 146 schools participating in the DIATROFI Program in Greece during the 2013-2014 school year were randomly allocated to the environmental intervention (received a healthy daily meal) and the multicomponent intervention (MI) group (in addition to the meal, a healthy nutrition educational program was applied). The analysis, based on 3627 pre-post intervention questionnaire pairs, was stratified for children (ages 4-11years) and adolescents (ages 12-18years). Children participating in the MI group displayed 25% higher odds of increasing the weekly consumption of milk/yoghurt and fruits, 61% higher odds of improving BMI from overweight/obese to normal and 2.5 times higher odds of improving from underweight to normal. For adolescents in the MI group, the odds of increasing the consumption of vegetables were 40% higher. In both intervention groups, approximately one in four overweight/obese adolescents reached normal weight. Educational programs on healthy nutrition might be considered worth implementing in the framework of school food aid programs.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.