The effect of nutrition education on the nutrition knowledge and healthy food choices of fifth grade students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a three week school-based nutrition education program on the nutrition knowledge and healthy food choices of elementary school children in the fifth grade. The nutrition education program consisted of nine, thirty minute lessons comprised of the following topics: the food pyramid guide, carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins (A and C), minerals (calcium, and iron), healthy snacks, and vegetarianism. Ninety-six subjects from four classes were obtained from two elementary public schools in the Muncie Community School District to participate in this study. A control group and an experimental group were assigned by the principal at each school according to the availability and interest of fifth grade teachers. Evaluation of nutrition knowledge was completed through a pre-test and post-test which consisted of twenty-five multiple choice questions. Questions on the test were developed by the researcher and the "Nutrition in a Changing World" (Contento, 1992) curriculum model. The test was found to be reliable on an Alpha Cronbach test for reliability (Alpha Coefficient = 0.71) and was validated by five registered dietitians.Results indicated that the nutrition education program significantly increased (p = .000) the nutrition knowledge of students. Mean scores for the experimental group increased significantly from 10.8 to 14.63 out of twenty-five questions, while mean scores for the control subjects increased only slightly from 10.11 to 10.74 out of twenty-five questions. Healthy food choices were defined as being in compliance with the guidelines for energy nutrients and in compliance with the guidelines for number of servings per food group. Evaluation of healthy food choices was conducted using a three-day dietary record analyzed by the Nutritionist IV computer software program prior to the nutrition education program and immediately following.Findings revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the mean change in compliance rate for the recommended number of servings for each food group from pre to post nutrition intervention (p = .000). The largest change that was observed in the experimental group from pre to post nutrition intervention was an 11.9% decrease in the mean number of servings for grains. There was no statistically significant difference in relation to the average change in compliance for the energy nutrients between the experimental and control groups nor was a statistical significance observed regarding compliance to the recommended number of servings per food group consumed daily. The primary investigator feels the educational program had a positive affect on the subjects and that a comprehensive nutrition education program needs to be developed to reinforce the concepts taught in order to make positive behavior changes.