Evaluation of the nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and food selection behaviors of high school students before and after completion of a nutrition course

Increased nutrition knowledge may lead to an improvement in adolescent's lifestyles and lower their risk of becoming overweight. A pre-test post-test control group design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of 18-week high school nutrition courses on improving student's nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and food selection behaviors. After the intervention, the intervention group (n=45) increased computed nutrition knowledge (7.4 before vs. 8.6 after, p<0.01), interests in nutrition/health (3.9 vs. 4.1, p<0.01), confidence in making good food choices (3.4 vs. 3.7, p<0.05), improved milk consumption (33 consuming ≥1 serving before vs. 36 after, p<0.05), and improved breakfast consumption (31 before vs. 40 after, p<0.001). The control group (n=30) showed either no differences or negative changes in behaviors after the intervention. The findings indicated nutrition education through course work may positively influence the nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and eating behaviors of high school students.