Endocrine Abstracts

Nutritional education and improvement of nutritional knowledge is an effective intervention that improves School children health. With consideration to few accurate and successful nutritional teaching programs directed at our schoolchildren in this research we evaluated the status of nutrition education system in primary school children and mothers’ point of view. The study was a qualitative study as a Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The research team consisted of a coordinator, one or two observers and two note takers. Each FGD was held with 6 to 8 person and each session lasted about 60 minutes. The field work activities of the study included 20 FGD sessions, 16 for male and female primary school children from grades 1 to 4 and 4 for mothers of two district (urban and rural) of Tehran, capital of Iran, were held. At the end of each group discussion all notes were completed, coded analyzed and classified by team members.

Findings show that children were eager to learn effects of bad and good foods on the body. According to their point of view TV, is the most important and effective teaching medium. In addition to TV, food advertisements, school staff especially teachers were named as the most effective factors on children’s nutritional behaviors. Most of children preferred to learn nutritional subjects from father, mother and other family members. The mothers preferred teachers, health instructors parents and classmates as source of knowledge and schools as the most effective place for teaching/or education nutritional subjects.

Results of the study confirm the fact that children need to learn, more about nutrition and foods. So that, designing of longitudinal nutrition education projects aiming at children through TV or other effective media is essential.