Setting Instructional Goals for Nutritional Education Program Through an Analysis of Problems Identified in Junior/senior High School Students

Yang, Il Sun; Lee, Hae Young; Kim, Hye Young; Kang, Yeo Hwa

Abstract

For the purpose of developing 'Web-Based Nutritional Education Program', this study analyzed nutritional problems of junior/senior high school students and set appropriate instructional goals for nutritional education program. Survey questionnaires were distributed from October 21,2002 to October 26, 2002 to a total of 564 students at three junior high schools and five senior high schools located in Seoul. The total number of questionnaires collected and used in our study was 479, which is 84.9% of the total questionnaires distributed. According to the survey results, three student groups (male and female students at junior high schools and female students at senior high schools) had lower than an ideal body weight. In case of their Basal Metabolic Indices (BMI), the female students and junior high school students showed a tendency to be underweight, while the other three student groups were within the normal range. The result of the survey showed that all four groups of students showed a deficiency in nutrient intake of calories, calcium and thiamin when compared with Korean RDA. Particularly, in the case of the female students at senior high schools, the deficiency of iron intake was a problem. The survey about food attitudes and food habits of the students showed that the senior high school students had more problems when compared with their junior high school counterparts (p < .001). Therefore, the instructional goals of nutritional education program were set as follows: 1) To improve the level of understanding and the perception of junior and senior high school students about the importance of a dietary lifestyle. 2) To change food attitudes and nutritional knowledge related to individual dietary 1ifestyle, so as to maintain good health through the enhancement of the students' physical activities. We found out that it is critically important to factor in the existing problems of food attitudes and food habits, as well as nutrient intake among junior and senor high school students when setting objectives for nutritional education programs.