Vol. 1, Issue 12, Part G (2015)

Abstract
Globalization has brought significant lifestyle changes in the population. Much of this enormous burden is already evident in urban as well as semi-urban population across India. The underlying determinants for chronic non-communicable diseases are socio behavioural factors such as improper diet, stress, physical inactivity and smoking, all of which can be modified with sound nutrition education programmes. Unhealthy eating practices that contribute to chronic disease are established early in life; children having unhealthy eating habits tend to maintain these habits as they age. Schools are ideal settings for nutrition education. The intensity and quality of nutrition messages students are receiving is not adequate to help them make wise choices of healthy food. Two private co-education schools in Chennai Central Zone were chosen. Selection of the schools was purposeful. Solomon’s four group design was used for the present study. All students in class3 and 4 who were in the age range of 7-9 years were invited to participate. Written consent was collected from parents/guardians. The intervention material was developed based on Social Cognitive Theory. Two sessions per week were conducted for a period of three months. As the sample for the present study happened to be children of 7 to 9 years, there was no significant gender difference on nutritional status at the beginning of the study. Children in experimental groups 1 and 2 had significantly better nutrition knowledge than those who were in control groups 1 and 2. Multiple group comparison in pairs filtered the effects of other extraneous factors such as maturation, history of occurrence of any other significant event etc on the dependent variable measure namely nutrition knowledge and dietary behavior. The study highlights the importance of nutrition education to improve the nutritional knowledge and dietary behavior of children aged 7-9 years.