Educator California Prep International School Saraburi, Saraburi, Thailand
Disclosure(s):
Daniela Assimiti: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Objectives: As a key factor for growing healthy , obtaining academic and physical performance, as well as emotional wellbeing, food and nutrition education at school can be one of the most valuable tools.
In a K-12 school (as an ESL setting) that has the advantage of continuity in delivery, by implementing various strategies according to the age - from games used mostly with kinder students, to more elaborate health lectures and hands-on activities in HS.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the patterns and level of education students obtain, based on analyzing their dietary preferences and behaviors, and determine in what measure this helps them coping with nutritional changes, if needed, in order to become mindful eaters aiming for an optimal health, especially in the context of post-pandemic.
Methods: A number of 84 students enrolled in MS and HS (35G/49B) completed a preliminary survey, while the Elementary (39G/34B) and Kinder (36G/24B) students where questioned or observed. Starting in Kinder, activities are organized in such a way that children are always exposed to nutrition (either through games, pictures, story time, or cooking activities).
Results: The overweight rate found was: in Kinder 11%G/5.5%B, Elementary 18%G/26%B, while in MS/HS it might happen that reporting on this particular topic is sometimes avoided . Homemade meals are consumed by 86.7% of the students, while only 30% use school cafeteria. The highest consume is still in the animal products range (73% eggs/and 75% chicken), while packaged foods are used only by 23%. Eating fresh fruits and vegetable remains still the biggest problem.
Conclusions: With a rate of over 60% students learning in the same school for more years which extend across levels, they have a larger amount of immersion, time and opportunity of learning and creating habits or new dietary patterns.
Continuing the education by implementing new strategies and continuing to work with the outliers is a task that the school is maintaining in order to achieve the level of desired academic performance and behavior.
