Nutrition knowledge in relation to the eating behaviour and attitudes of Slovenian schoolchildren

Abstract

Purpose – Children's eating habits are influenced by numerous social and individual factors. The present study aimed to evaluate the connection between nutrition knowledge of children and their eating habits as well as their attitudes towards healthy eating habits. Design/methodology/approach – The research study included 630 11-year-old children from 27 randomly selected Slovenian schools. During the research, children attended the sixth grade of the nine-year elementary school and on average were subject to 38.6 h of mandatory nutritional contents, which are planned in the curriculum of home economics. At the end of the school year, nutrition knowledge was checked with a knowledge test consisting of 27 questions. Considering the achieved results, children were classified into three knowledge categories: low, fairly good, and good nutrition knowledge. Children's eating habits were assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire, while the five-degree Likert scale was used to assess their attitudes to healthy eating habits. Differences in children's eating habits and attitudes in reference to the category of knowledge were determined through analysis of variance. Findings – The results demonstrated that children with better nutrition knowledge have healthier eating habits and a more positive attitude towards them than children with poor nutrition knowledge. Originality/value – The study results demonstrate the link between children's nutrition knowledge and attitudes on the one hand and eating habits on the other which justifies the importance of providing formal and informal nutrition education to children.

Independent decision making of adolescents regarding food choice

“…It was also noted that the demographic and behavioural data collected did not differentiate the decision‐making process that resulted in the range of EDS data that were obtained. This indicates that the behaviours exhibited by the sample group are consistently adopted (contrary to research carried out by Larson, Perry, Story, & Neumark‐Sztainer, and Hearty, McCarthy, Kearney, & Gibney, ; Kostanjevec, Jerman, & Koch, ), and does support that variables such as knowledge and attitudes are poorly translated into healthy dietary behaviour (Brown, McIlveen, & Strugnell, ). In contrast to research by Cluskey and Grobe (), the study did reveal that although adolescents do attain the knowledge and skills to make healthy food choices, translating this into dietary behaviour does not always occur.…”

Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of a Combined Intervention of Rope Skipping and Nutrition Education for Overweight Children in Northeast China

“…8,14 Contrary to the results of the present study, previous research has shown that increasing knowledge about nutrition is not enough to affect a change in eating habits. 36 Insufficient knowledge about nutrition is an important cause of poor eating habits, 37 but it is difficult to improve eating habits by increasing nutrition knowledge alone. 36 Recognizing that you are obese is a prerequisite for consciously improving obesity.…”

Nutrition knowledge, attitude and practices among urban primary school children in Nairobi City, Kenya: a KAP study

“…Other studies have shown nutritional knowledge as a factor that influence the decisions individuals make about food [20,24,25]. Lack of nutrition knowledge has been implicated as a cause of poor dietary habits [26]. However, knowledge alone may not be adequate to have proper dietary practices.…”