Sağlıklı Beslenme ve Besin Etiketi Okuma Eğitimlerinin Ortaokul Öğrencilerinin Besin Tercihlerine Etkisinin Değerlendirilmesi

Abstract

Nutrient labels are accepted as nutrition education devices which can effect peoples’ nutrient choices. Studies points out that the information on nutrient labels are not used efficiently. Implementation of school based education program can provide more effective use of nutrition labels and encouragement of healthy food choices for children. In this research ıt has been aimed to measure the changes on students’ nutrient preferences by educating children about nutrition principles and using information on nutrient labels efficiently. Study is an intervention study which has short and long term observation. For this study ıt has been choosen totally 120 students from 2 different schools, 60 students as working group and 60 students as controlling group. Education about healthy nutrition and understanding nutrient labels has been given to the working group students for 4 weeks as two hours a week. The short-term efficacy of the education has been evaluated right after a week later of completion of training and the long-term efficacy has been evaluated by applying the survey again 8 weeks after the completion of training.The level of nutrition knowledge of the working group students’ parents and the assesment of their children are recorded.There has been no interference for the controlling group students but it has been procuredto apply the survey at the same terms with the working group studets. Participants’ nutritional status,food consumption frequency,24 hours food consumption records were evaluated by using some anrtopometric measurements. When compared to the controlling group, it has been seen that there is an important icrease on the situation of using nutrition label information of the working group students,both at the short and long terms after the education stage (%16.6)(%11.6)(p=0.000). After training it has been seen that all the students have started to read the nutrition labels on packaged productions and also they have kept on doing this for long term (%100.0)(%96.70)(p=0.000). It s been seen that there is %73 increase for short term and % 60 increase for long term on using information about products’ energy and nutrition contents which take part on nutrition labels (p=0.000). After training term,it is shown that nutrition and reading nutrition labels education have effected the chldrens’ nutrition choices. Both at the short and long terms it has been determined that the number of the people who consumed milk, fully cerealed bread, milky sweet or ice cream , fresh fruit juice daily have increased at an important level(p<0.05 ). Nutrition education is an important attempt to provide healthy nutrition for school aged children.In this case it is endured big value to give healthy nutrition education to the students.