Dietary Diversity, Nutrition Knowledge
Conditions
Brief summary
This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a dialogic reading-based nutrition education program in improving nutrition knowledge and dietary diversity among preschool children.
Detailed description
This study uses a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design. A total of 46 children (26 in the intervention group and 20 in the control group) from two preschools in Istanbul are included. The intervention group receives an eight-week nutrition education program that integrates dialogic reading with real food exposure, sensory play, table-top activities, and parental involvement. Data are collected using the Children Nutrition Knowledge Form, Dietary Diversity Scale, and anthropometric measurements. The study is designed to assess whether a dialogic reading-based and multi-component nutrition education program can enhance preschool children's nutrition knowledge and dietary diversity.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALnutrition education
dialogic reading-based nutrition education
Sponsors
Istanbul Medeniyet University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
60 Months to 66 Months
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Parental consent for participation * Regular school attendance * No medical condition requiring a special diet * No diagnosis of congenital or acquired developmental delay/disability * No prior participation in a nutrition-focused developmental support program
Exclusion criteria
* Special needs * Missing family form * Foreign language (not fluent in study language) * Absenteeism
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| nutrition knowledge | From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks | The Child Nutrition Knowledge Form is based on the Eat Smart with MyPyramid for Kids educational material developed by the United States Department of Agriculture. The Turkish adaptation of the form was conducted by Başkale in 2010. The form includes images of 30 food items from five food groups and consists of five questions. It is administered face-to-face with preschool children by reading each question aloud and asking the child to indicate the correct answer by pointing to the relevant image. Each correct answer is scored as 1, and incorrect answers are scored as 0. Therefore, the total possible score ranges from 0 to 20. A higher score indicates a higher level of nutrition knowledge . |
| dietary diversity | From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks | The Dietary Diversity Score was calculated based on the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Dietary Diversity Questionnaire . A non-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the frequency of consumption of eight food groups (dairy products, fresh meats, eggs, fish and seafood, legumes, nuts and seeds, vegetables, fruits, and cereals). If the consumption frequency of any food in these groups was marked as Every day, 3-5 times a week, or 1-2 times a week, 1 point was assigned. If it was marked as Once every 15 days, Once a month, Rarely, or Never, 0 points were assigned. |
Countries
Turkey (Türkiye)
Outcome results
None listed