Effect of Participational Nutrition Education Program among Elementary Students

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of participational nutrition education programs for elementary school students in Chonnam area. Methods: The participational nutrition education program can be divided into a several topics such as importance of having breakfast every morning, the proper way of washing hands and intake of snacks, healthy eating snacks and understanding of my body composition. In this survey, four hundred forty eight upperclassmen from eight elementary schools in Chonman participated. The subjects was divided into two groups as the control group (n=224) and the education group (n=224). The education group was taken the participational nutrition program. The effects of the education were evaluated with independent t-test with SPSS 12.0. It was practiced for five weeks, and respectively compared the results from before and after the education. As far as the control group, the survey was done at same periods with education group who were on the participational nutrition program. Results: The results of education showed a significant difference between the control group and the education group. The education group showed a huge improvement (p<0.05) of having breakfast and understanding the importance of breakfasts and hand washing time and of practicing hand washing, etc. Also, the understanding of eating habits and nutrition knowledge were significantly increased. However, bad eating habits such as not drinking milk, eating beans, and eating rapidly and lack of knowledge on sources of protein and empty calorie foods weren't significantly affected by the education purpose Conclusion: This study shows the effectiveness of the participational nutrition education program such as the improvement of healthy habits and acknowledgment for elementary school students. However, in order to show the improvement, the education has to be proceeded over 5 weeks.