Comparison of changes in nutritional knowledge and behaviour of adolescents by direct education and the use of digital technologies

Edukacija adolescenata o pravilnoj prehrani važna je za stvaranje pravilnih prehrambenih navika koje će se prenijeti u odraslu dob. Najmanji broj intervencija zabilježen je među adolescentima dobi 15-19 godina. Ciljevi ovoga rada bili su ispitati zainteresiranost osječkih srednjoškolaca za nutricionističku edukaciju te usporediti utjecaj direktnog (u učionici) i digitalnog (putem Facebook-a) oblika edukacije na prehrambeno znanje i ponašanje. Prema DESIGN proceduri edukacije u nutricionizmu sastavljena je edukacijska intervencija „Užina za 5!“, a prehrambeno znanje i ponašanje utvrđeno je upitnikom popunjenim neposredno prije i tjedan dana nakon edukacije. Preko 90 % učenika iskazalo je želju za dodatnim educiranjem o hrani i prehrani. Edukacijska intervencija dovela je do poboljšanja prehrambenog znanja, za 12,9 % (p0,05). Omjer unosa nutritivno poželjnije hrane smanjio se, uz statističku značajnost samo nakon direktne edukacije (p=0,003).Educating adolescents about nutrition is important for creating healthy eating habits that will be passed onto adulthood. So far, the least number of school interventions have been reported for adolescents aged 15-19 years. The objectives of this paper were to examine the interest of high school students in nutrition education and to compare the impact of direct (in the classroom) and digital (via Facebook) form of education on nutritional knowledge and behaviour. The nutrition education DESIGN procedure was applied to create an educational intervention titled "Užina za 5!". Nutritional knowledge and behaviour were assessed using the questionnaire students completed immediately before and one week after the education. Over 90% of adolescents showed interest in learning about nutrition. Nutrition knowledge was improved, by 12.9% (p 0.05). The healthy snack ratio has decreased, but statistically significant only after direct education (p = 0.003)