“Nutripiatto”: A tool for nutritional education. A survey to assess dietary habits in preschool children

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a global public health concern linked to metabolic and psychological comorbidities. There is growing evidence that children’s lifestyle habits are shifting towards obesity, with dire consequences for their future well-being and healthcare costs. In this interventional study, we enrolled 115 children aged between 4–5 years (53% females and 47% males) and carried out nutrition education interventions to improve their dietary habits. We introduced “Nutripiatto”, a visual plate icon and easy guide, which was used by the children during the study. We investigated the children’s dietary habits using a Food Frequency Questionnaire at the beginning and end of the study, after one month of using “Nutripiatto”. The results showed that the children significantly increased the portion sizes and frequency of vegetable consumption (P<0.001) and reduced the consumption of several junk foods such as French fries and crisps (P<0.001), reaching the recommended dietary allowances and frequency of consumption. Daily consumption of water also significantly increased, reaching the suggested amount of six glasses per day. Based on these results, “Nutripiatto” can be considered an effective visual guide and helpful tool to achieve small changes and empower families to make healthier food choices. It can also be considered an effective educational tool for nutritionists and healthcare professionals to improve children’s dietary behavior.

Adaptation and Validation of the S-NutLit Scale to Assess Nutritional Literacy in the Peruvian Population

“…In addition to this, other studies recommend that literacy regarding nutrition and a healthy lifestyle should begin in early childhood, as educational environments are ideal spaces to instill healthy eating habits and promote physical activity. However, this practice could not guarantee a good feeding practice, as it requires the intervention of professionals who can instruct parents and the intervention of an educational institution to act as supporting agents in order to encourage parents to adopt good feeding practices through nutritional literacy [13][14][15].…”