Influence of education on primary school students nutrition in Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

Primary school students' knowledge on nutrition and breakfast, most important meal of the day, in Turkey is relatively weak. Studies on primary school students revealed low success and obesity problems in the country. For increasing awareness and mitigating problems said above, education programs were launched recently. The efficiency of education methods provided to students was determined in the study along with changes in breakfast habits. Research was conducted by questionnaires undertaken with 565 students from 5th and 6th grade from two primary schools in Kecioren (Ankara, Turkey) in 2007. The nutrition knowledge levels of the students were evaluated by Two Way ANOVA for Repeated Measures. The statistical data processing of the interview and variance analyses of the results were obtained by SPSS 15.0. Means were made by Duncan's multiple range test using the MSTAT-C program. The average of the nutrition knowledge increased following various education methods. However, monitoring test undertaken after a month showed a decrease in nutrition knowledge. Education on nutrition provided by audio and visual training to primary school students significantly improved their knowledge and habits. However, we suggest continuous education for maintaining nutrition knowledge particularly in primary school because the efficiency of education sharply decreases within a short period.