IMPACT OF NUTRITION EDUCATION ON THE KNOWLEDGE SCORE OF COLLEGE GOING GIRLS REGARDING OBESITY

Abstract

The World Health Organization has described obesity as one of today’s most neglected public health problems. Acquiring nutritional knowledge is essential for improved diet practices. Nutritional knowledge can be gained by means of nutrition education. The present study was conducted to assess pre and post intervention on nutrition knowledge among college going girls. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 100 subjects between 18-24 years from Manav Rachna International University for the present study. The study was conducted in 3 phases- Pre Intervention Phase, Intervention Phase and Post Intervention Phase. Their nutritional knowledge was assessed with the help of questionnaire. Information, Education and Communication material such as presentation, poster, pamphlet, booklet was developed and used during the intervention phase. Prior to intervention, 69% respondents understood that factors can contribute to obesity in comparison 31% respondents which were not aware of the factors that can contribute to obesity. Post imparting the nutrition education, 74% respondents understood that factors can contribute to obesity but still 26% respondents were not able to understand the factors responsible for obesity. Percentage of respondents knowing the exact definition of trans fat raised from 26% to 46%. In this study, it was found that provision of nutrition education had a significant impact on nutrition knowledge among the subjects. So it can be concluded that nutrition education plays a vital role in improving the nutritional knowledge, which in turn will improve the nutritional status of the respondents.