Abstract
BackgroundFood and nutrition literacy is a newly emerged concept to connect food-related knowledge and skills to healthy diets. Its promotion is important to protect children as they eat too many low-nutrient, high-energy foods. Food and nutrition literacy promotion needs multi-dimensional interventions. In the process of developing an intervention to promote food and nutrition literacy, the present review protocol aims to critically examine the evidence in the area of school-based interventions for promoting food and nutrition literacy (FNLIT) in elementary school children.MethodsWe will search PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, CENTRAL, and ProQuest (from inception onwards). Additional studies will be identified through manual searching of reference lists. Quantitative studies (e.g., randomized controlled trial, quasi-randomized trials, and cluster randomized trials) evaluating the effect of interventions to promote food and nutrition literacy in elementary school children (5–12 years old) will be included. Main outcomes will be food and nutrition literacy at functional, interactive, and critical levels. Secondary outcomes will be dietary intake indicators (e.g., healthy eating index, DDS) and health outcome measures (e.g., reduction in BMI and less weight gain). Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. Potential conflicts will be resolved through discussion. The study methodological quality (or bias) will be appraised using appropriate tools. If feasible, we will conduct random effects meta-analysis. The quality of the included studies will separately evaluate using the validated Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies, developed by the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP). Data will be extracted by two reviewers from the identified relevant literature. Standard data synthesis and analysis will be used for the review.DiscussionThis systematic review will summarize the evidence regarding the components, implementation methods, and effectiveness of the interventions of food and nutrition literacy promotion in elementary school children. The results of this review will provide a useful reference for policymakers and curriculum developers to assess education curricula and develop practical learning and teaching strategies to improve students’ food and nutrition literacy.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO (CRD42019135118)
Highlights
Food and nutrition literacy is a newly emerged concept to connect food-related knowledge and skills to healthy diets
The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that by 2020, Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) will account for 80% of the global burden of disease [2]
As regards food skills needed for translating knowledge into practice, food and nutrition literacy can have a key role in fostering healthy eating behavior [51]
Summary
Food and nutrition literacy is a newly emerged concept to connect food-related knowledge and skills to healthy diets. Its promotion is important to protect children as they eat too many low-nutrient, high-energy foods. In developing countries, including Iran, the prevalence of NCDs has increased over the past few years [3]. It is well documented that high-risk behaviors such as meal skipping, unhealthy eating behaviors, and low physical activity is increasing among children and adolescents [5,6,7,8]. This has resulted in growing prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in many countries [9, 10]
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