The development of food-based nutrition education and dietary assessment tools for prepubescent children

This thesis is the first step in developing appropriate dietary assessment methods for use with prepubescent children, focusing on both their knowledge and their behaviour. The tools are for use within the classroom setting, and use food groups as the method of analysis. The project developed and established a food group database which is capable of assessing and monitoring dietary information as supplied by prepubescent children. The good group database produces output in the form of a pie chart showing the proportions of foods consumed within the five good groups as defined by the national dietary guidelines, the Balance of Good Health.A method for assessing nutritional knowledge has been developed, using draw and write techniques. The method was shown to provide more descriptive detail of foods than a simple list. The method is inexpensive, easy to administer and relatively simple to analyse. Teaching staff could use this method to ascertain areas of misunderstanding or lack of nutritional knowledge.Two methods of enhancing prepubescent children's nutritional knowledge were developed, based on the national food-based guidelines the Balance of Good Health. The purpose of these tools is to highlight areas of misunderstanding and allowed for more focused nutrition education.The project has developed methods for assessing current diet in the prepubescent population at the group level. Three methods have been developed, one retrospective and one prospective, using meal and snack-based criteria, and a food type questionnaire looking at usual habits with reference to fat and sugar consumption. These methods can be used to establish baseline dietary behaviour information at the group level, and to monitor changes over time.