• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
• /
• v.43 no.7 s.209
• /
• pp.67-77
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this study was to survey the concern for nutrition and the degree of nutritional knowledge of elementary school children's parents and their perception on the eating habits of their children. This study also investigated the effects of the concern for nutrition and the nutritional knowledge on the eating habits of their children. The questionnaire was answered by 383 mothers and fathers in the Kyonggi area. The general nutritional attitude and the perception of their children's eating habits were represented by frequencies and analyzed tv chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test. The difference of nutritional knowledge was represented tv mean and S.D. and was analyzed by one-way ANOVA test. Statistical significance was tested at the 0.05 level. The main results of the study are summarized as follows. 1) Parents had a comparatively deep concern for nutrition and a high level of knowledge. With increasing concern for nutrition, nutritional knowledge tended to be better and the higher proportion of participation in the nutritional education program increased. 2) The majority$(58.5\%)$ of the subjects thought that the eating habit of their children was not appropriate. The subjects had relatively high recognition about their children's eating habits and pointed out the unbalanced diet, snacks, and skipping a meal among their children's eating habits. Nevertheless, there were no significantly differences among the concern for nutrition of the parents and perception on their children's eating habits. As the parents' nutritional attitude, concern for nutrition, and nutritional knowledge can affect the children's eating habits, tire suggest that schools open nutritional education programs for parents in order to acquire proper food and nutrition information, and that schools and homes should be more closely connected.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.202-208
• /
• 2007

This study had two purposes: first, to develop various health nutrition education materials for preschool children as well as their teachers and parents, and second, to apply the health nutrition education programs systematically. The health nutrition education materials consisted of : 'Salt! I know what it is and eat it', 'Friend! Let's have breakfast.', 'I eat vegetables(rainbow)', 'I hate fat', 'I enjoy exercise', 'I am growing very fast'. 'I am curious about my body', 'My body is important', 'Cigarettes, what are they?', 'What's included in cigarettes?'. 'Smoking, it gives my family pain', 'Let's quit smoking', and 'Let's drink moderately'. During the education period, booklets, wall charts, photographs, food models, videos, animated films, and demonstrations were utilized. Based on age, there were significant differences in the effects of 'I am curious about my body'(p<0.05), 'What is included in cigarettes?'(p<0.01), and 'Smoking, it gives my family pain'(p<0.05). There were also significant differences in 'Salt! I know what it is and eat it', 'Friends! Let's have breakfast.', 'My body is important.' and 'Let's quit smoking'. As a result, to improve food habits and health nutrition knowledge, health nutrition education programs must be presented to day care center children as well as their parents, and persistent education is necessary.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.141-152
• /
• 2020

Homeroom teachers are not usually nutrition professionals, but they spend a lot of time with students in elementary school classrooms. This study was conducted to determine the association of homeroom teachers' nutrition education with the dietary habits of their classroom children. The subjects were 131 homeroom teachers and their 1,102 children from 17 elementary schools in Gyeonggi, Korea. Self-administered questionnaires to collect information on dietary habits were conducted in December 2016. The dietary habits were determined with the adherences to the Dietary Guidelines for Adults and Children, respectively, by coding the better diet life with a higher score. The significances between groups according to teachers' implementation of nutrition education (106 implemented, 25 not implemented) were analyzed by using SPSS at P<0.05. Implementing nutrition education was not associated with the dietary habits of teachers themselves, but their students. Therefore, the students of teachers who implemented nutrition education had significantly higher adherence to 8 items out of 19 items (P<0.05, P<0.01). More of the students considered themselves as non-picky eaters (P<0.05), tried to eat all the foods served at school lunch even when it contained unwanted ingredients (P<0.01), and agreed on the need of nutrition education (P<0.01), as compared to their counterparts. Conclusively, this study suggests that nutrition education delivered by homeroom teachers may be associated with more desirable dietary habits of students, even though homeroom teachers are not nutrition professionals. Therefore, efforts should be undertaken to develop and provide proper contents for homeroom teachers to use in nutrition education for elementary students.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.130-141
• /
• 2011

This study was conducted to develop a nutrition education workbook to improve picky eating in children and to evaluate the effect of nutrition education using this developed workbook. The developed workbook focused on 2nd and 3rd grade students and consisted of five units. The contents included: multi-grain, vegetables (2 units), fish, and milk. The activities, including observation, and learning the roles and names of the foods, were developed mainly to increase motivation for eating a balanced diet. This workbook was developed from April to December 2008, and was applied at 15 elementary schools containing 1,674 students from April to September 2009 in Changwon City, Korea. We evaluated changes in knowledge before and after education on nutrition, eating behavior, dietary habits, and educational activities using self-administered questionnaires. The children demonstrated significant improvements in nutritional knowledge (P<0.001), eating behavior (P<0.001), and dietary habits (P<0.001). Most of the children answered that the education program was helpful and exciting. Based on these results, we believe that the developed workbook is suitable for children picky eaters, and hope it will be used in the field of child nutrition education.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.11 no.5
• /
• pp.598-607
• /
• 2006

The following study has been conducted by carrying out the nutrition education program for preschool children and measuring the change in their food preference and nutritional knowledge. The 28 boys and 22 girls with the average height of $117.4{\pm}5.1cm$ and weight $21.8{\pm}3.5kg$ participated in the study. The favorite foods of the children were: meat (51.1%) being the highest, fruits (38.3%), carbohydrates (23.4%), while the least favored food was vegetables (75%). It indicated that 36.2% of the children were having unbalanced diets. The change in food preference after the implementation of the nutrition education program was the significant increase in preference in vegetables and fruits (p<0.01) and proteins such as meat, fish, eggs and beans (p<0.05). The differences in food preference among boys and girls were that the boys showed significant increase in vegetables and fruits (p<0.01) while there was a decrease in the simple sugar groups (p<0.01). Regarding girls, there were significant increases in vegetables and fruits as well as protein groups of meat, fish, eggs and beans (p<0.01). The changes in the nutritional knowledge of the preschool children after the implementation of the nutrition education program were scores for the fruits and vegetables group and carbohydrates group showed a significant increase while the scores for the oil and nuts group had decreased considerably. The average score on nutritional knowledge has significantly increased from 9.07 to 10.17 (p<0.01) and the score on the roles of the nutrients increased from 3.02 to 3.48 (p<0.05). The changes in eating habits of the children after the nutrition education were the answer for the change in eating habits of the children after the nutrition education was 'slight change' 61.4%. Also, the change in food preference was 'slight change' 61.4% and the improvement in nutrition education was 'slightly' 50%. According to the results of this study, it is evident that the change in eating habits and the acquisition of nutritional knowledge is very difficult, thus requiring consistent and prolonged education. Therefore, it seems to be best to include a more systematic and professional nutrition education program in preschool education. Also, the education for the parents should be implemented since the effect of education on children is greater when it is closely connected with the education at home.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.259-269
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study was to develop a nutrition education website for children, especially those around the 4th-6th grade levels. Among the already existing websites providing nutritional information for children, 7 websites with comparable amounts of information were evaluated in terms of their topics, credibility, content, ease of use, and aesthetics. In addition, a survey was conducted to assess the need for nutrition information among 305 elementary students. The food pyramid was the topic offered most often on those websites. Information on nutrients, digestion, food safety, nutrition labeling, and healthy eating habits were available on the websites. Some of those websites also provided games or quizzes to attract the children's interest. However, seine of the websites did not give any information on the person responsible for providing the information, which is most important in determining the credibility of the website. Other problems were that some information was too difficult for children, and some of the websites did not provide a way to search for information. According to the survey results, the topics that children wanted to know about were‘desirable weight’,‘cooking’,‘correct food choice’,‘weight control method’,‘calories consumed during exercise’, but, they did not have a high interest in‘asking questions’‘books with nutrition messages’,‘under weight’,‘negative effect of weight control’and‘helping hungry children’. Based on these results, we developed a new nutrition education web-site, ifood’(http: //1 ifood.or.kr). We focused on helping children develop healthy eating habits by providing information which is easy and practical for children. However, we neither included the program to assess their dietary intake, nor provided entertaining background sounds, which children like. Also, the game section is composed mainly of quizzes. Therefore, we need to further develop exciting games to teach nutrition to children. In the near future, the newly developed website should be evaluated by children regarding understandability and coverage of the contents as well as usability and design, and then revised to improve the educational effect.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.62-76
• /
• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the dietary habits and practices of mothers and their children from 3 to 6 years of age as well as the mother's attitudes about nutrition education. This study focused mainly on two areas: 1) the dietary habits and actual dietary practices of mothers and their children and 2) a mother's perception and need for nutrition education. The results of the regression analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between the dietary habits of mothers and their children's (p<0.05). There was statistical significance in total food frequency intake and the food frequency intake between the mothers and children (r=0.829, p<0.01). The results of the regression analysis showed that the mother's dietary attitude (meal regularity, meal tempo) could positively influence their children's dietary attitude (p<0.01). The mothers showed a high interest in nutrition education; 81.6% of mothers tried to apply nutrition information to their actual dietary life, 77.6% of them recognized the need of nutrition education on preschoolers' dietary life and health, and 75.2% of them wanted to participate in nutrition education program(s) for their children. The percent of mothers that wanted to be offered lectures, food practices and hand-outs were 36.9%, 18.4%, 15.5%, respectively. The combined results of this study showed that mothers sincerely recognize the need for nutrition education and they have a high and deep interest in nutrition education.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.183-194
• /
• 2011

This study examined the effects of a nutrition education program on nutrition-related knowledge, eating habits, and dietary behavior. Subjects were 3rd grade elementary school students in Anyang, Gyeonggi-do. A 5-week nutrition education program was implemented to 28 children and another 26 children were included in the study as a control group. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the effects of nutrition education program. Mean nutrition related knowledge score was improved after education (p < 0.001). There was a significant improvement in knowledge of nutrient source (p < 0.05), role of protein (p < 0.05), food tower (p < 0.001), getting information from nutrition labeling (p < 0.05), and proper way of snacking (p < 0.001). Eating habits and self-efficacy also tended to improve by nutrition education, especially eating habit of snack and self-efficacy on balanced diet reached significant improvement (p < 0.05). Food consumption frequency was not changed significantly, only consumption of sea weeds which is considered as a reluctant food among children was increased after education (p < 0.05). In addition, the number of leftover food items and total amount of leftover at school lunch reduced significantly after education when compared with the same 10-day menu prior to education (p < 0.01). This result suggests that unbalanced dietary behavior has been changed with the nutrition education program. In conclusion, the nutrition education program was found to be effective in improving nutrition-related knowledge, eating habits, and dietary behavior.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.266-276
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate the nutrition education program for elementary school children Subjects were 5th graders (n = 142) of an elementary school in Seoul, and 138 children completed four sessions of nutrition education during March-April, 2008. One group pretest-posttest design was used to evaluate the program effectiveness. Anthropometric measurements and measurements on nutrition knowledge, eating attitudes and eating behavior were done before and after education. Data were analyzed using paired t-test, t-test and ${\chi}^2-test$. After completing nutrition education, body mass index (from 19.3 to 18.9), fat mass (from 10.9 kg to 10.1 kg), percent body fat (from 25% to 23.3%) of subjects decreased significantly (p < 0.001). Percentages of overweight or obese children were 24.6% at pretest and decreased to 20.3% at posttest, although it did not reach statistical significance. Total score of nutrition knowledge increased significantly from 11.9 (59.5/100) at pretest to 14.7 (73.5/100) at posttest (p < 0.001). After nutrition education, percentages of correct answers increased significantly in 10 knowledge items out of 20 items. These included items such as desirable weight control, energy requirements for boys, food groups, snack, and function of fat and balanced meals (p < 0.001). Total score of eating attitudes increased significantly from 35.1 to 36.9 (p < 0.001). Attitude of applying nutrition knowledge to daily life (p < 0.001), interest toward nutrition and health (p < 0.001), attitude of moderating food intake (p < 0.01), and attitude toward eating habit and future health (p < 0.05) were significantly different between pretest and posttest. Total score of eating behaviors increased significantly from 46.7 (possible score: 20-60) to 49.5 by nutrition education (p < 0.001). Improvement in eight eating behaviors were noticed after nutrition education. These included eating meals slowly, eat protein foods (p < 0.001), eating breakfast, eating meals regularly, eating meals with diverse foods, having dairy foods, eating foods using plant oils (p < 0.01), and having grains (p < 0.05). Subjects evaluated quite positively in attractiveness of program, understanding of program contents, helpfulness of program in improving nutrition knowledge and meal management. Study results show that the nutrition education program was effective in improving nutrition knowledge, eating attitudes and changing eating behaviors of children. This program can be used in nutrition education of children at school or at public health centers.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.20-29
• /
• 2015

This study investigated the demand of nutrition education programs among preschooler's parents. Focus group interview was conducted four times with 29 parents of preschool children. Most subjects appeared to have interest in nutrition education; 'very interested' (58.6%), 'somewhat interested' (20.7%). Sources of nutrition information were 'internet' (35.1%), 'books' (21.6%), 'newspaper or magazines' (13.5%), 'family or relatives' (13.5%), 'media' (8.1%), 'preschool' (5.4%) and 'hospital or public health center' (2.7%) in order. The most frequently mentioned health problems related to dietary behavior were atopy and obesity. Major concerns for children's dietary behavior was picky eating habits, and having questions for how to deal with this problem. Most subjects had trouble with obtaining an adequate amount of dietary supplements for their children. Nutrition education for parents about food labeling and information on processed foods was in demand. Preferred methods of nutrition education for children were playing games with stickers, gardening vegetables, and participating in cooking. Attitudes toward computer-assisted education materials, one of the methods of nutrition education, appeared to be ambivalent. Some preschool parents showed negative attitudes towards exposing their children to electronic devices at an early age, whereas others showed positive attitudes. Subjects were interested in meal-planning and ways to balance nutrients for their child. Parents preferred attending professional lectures to receive reading materials or searching websites as an adult nutrition education method. Results of this study have implications on providing basic information for developing nutrition education programs for preschoolers and their parents. Future research should focus on developing nutrition education programs for both preschools and the home.