| Description |
Currently, approximately 17% of all children in the United States are classified as obese. Low socioeconomic status and minority populations are at significantly increased risk of obesity and incidence of metabolic disorders. Schools offer an opportunity to increase nutrition and physical activity knowledge through comprehensive school-based interventions. Presently, there are no studies evaluating the change in student nutrition knowledge following a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) intervention or comparing the relationships of nutrition knowledge to other health parameters. The purpose of this study was to compare the relationships among nutrition knowledge, health-related fitness, physical activity knowledge, and metabolic health in students in minority, low socioeconomic elementary schools. The study populations were 377, 800, and 101 students in grades 1-4, K-6, and 4-6, respectively, depending on the specific aim analysis. All students were from one of five Title I schools, with funding from the Carol White Physical Education Program Grant, in the Salt Lake City River District, using data from both the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years. Knowledge assessments were collected at the beginning of physical education classes. Health-related fitness measures were obtained during another physical education class, while metabolic health measures were collected in the morning before the start of school. The change in nutrition knowledge following a minimal nutrition intervention was assessed using paired t-tests, while the relationships of nutrition knowledge and other health parameters were evaluated using Pearson's correlation coefficients. Nutrition knowledge scores increased significantly (p<0.001) from pretest to posttest (Mean difference=1.01; d=0.39) following the CSPAP intervention. Higher nutrition knowledge scores were associated with increased aerobic fitness (r=0.121; p<0.001), increased physical activity knowledge (r=0.458; p<0.001), and lower metabolic syndrome scores (r=?0.247; p=0.013). This study highlights the importance of nutrition knowledge and comprehensive school-based interventions in this low socioeconomic, minority population. Future research on the evaluation of comprehensive nutrition interventions is needed. |
