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Children’s Food Knowledge and Preferences Before and After Intervention
ABSTRACT
Obesity is a nutrition-based problem in the United States. For every five children in the United States, one of them is overweight. The purpose of this study is to assess the nutritional knowledge, behavior, and preferences of elementary-aged children from 6 to 10 years old attending an elementary school in Menomonie, WI, during the spring of 2011. After obtaining IRB approval, letters were sent to parents of children (total of 310 students) from kindergarten through 5th grade. Thirty nine students participated in the study (kindergarten, 2nd, 4th, and 5th grades). The Heart N’ Parks survey instrument was used to assess pre-nutritional knowledge, behavior and preferences.
METHODS
RESULTS
Kindergarteners:
Kindergarten students scored 19% on question four in the knowledge section.
Which food is better for your health ?
Kindergarten students scored 38% on question four in the behavior section.
Which foods do you eat most of the time?
Kindergarten students scored 0.06% on question four in the preferences section.
Second graders:
Second grade students scored 50% on question five in the knowledge section.
Which foods do you eat most of the time?
Second grade students scored 22% on question four in the behavior section.
Second grade students scored 42% on question four
in the preferences section.
Fourth and Fifth graders:
Fourth and fifth grade students scored 27% on question four in the knowledge section.
Fourth and fifth grade students scored 60% on question one in the behavior section.
Which foods do you eat most of the time?
Fourth and fifth grade students scored 36% on question seven in the preferences section.
Arwa Zahid, Food and Nutritional Sciences and Ann Parsons, Biology University of Wisconsin-Stout
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:The following individuals assisted in this project:* Anhar Alkhamis * Shatha Alattar * Lindsay Rozek* Wejdan Zahid
CONCLUSION/NEXT STEPS
Total scores suggest that intervention should focus on nutritional behavior and preferences.
In each age group, children’s behavior and preferences were more towards foods with high fat content.
Each planned intervention will use fat tubes of hamburger, regular milk, low fat milk, candy bar, ice cream, and French fries.
Age-specific education sessions:a. Kindergarten: healthy food puppetsb. Second grade: food groups “go fish” card gamec. Fourth and fifth grades: ‘Where is the fat?’
questions and ‘Read it before you Eat it!’ poster Post-survey will be conducted in the same settings
as the pre-survey. Comparisons between pre- and post-survey will be
made.
The data collection was conducted during the school day and outside the classes.
The children filled out the survey without their parents and teachers.
The researcher was present to clarify any questions.
Children were given stickers after they completed their survey and were escorted back to their classes.
The nutritional knowledge section focused on ‘Which food is better for your health?’
The nutritional behavior section asked questions relating to ‘What foods do you eat most of the time?’
The last section was about the nutritional preferences which had a main question of ‘What would you do?’
Each section had seven questions.
