Evaluation of the Food and Agriculture Organization's global school-based nutrition education initiative, Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger (FMFH), in schools of Hyderabad, India

To assess the efficacy of the Food and Agriculture Organization's global school-based nutrition education initiative, Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger (FMFH), in improving nutrition-related knowledge levels of schoolchildren. Adopting the cluster randomisation technique, five schools each in expe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPublic health nutrition Vol. 9; no. 8; pp. 991 - 995
Main Authors Subba Rao, GM, Raghunatha Rao, D, Venkaiah, K, Dube, Anil K, Rameshwar Sarma, KV
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.12.2006
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Summary:To assess the efficacy of the Food and Agriculture Organization's global school-based nutrition education initiative, Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger (FMFH), in improving nutrition-related knowledge levels of schoolchildren. Adopting the cluster randomisation technique, five schools each in experimental and control groups were randomly chosen from the member schools of a voluntary organisation. Repeated measures of knowledge levels were carried out at three points in time to assess pre-, post-intervention and retention of knowledge gained during the intervention. Children from experimental schools were given nutrition education by teachers in the classroom setting using FMFH material. Schoolchildren (n=358 in the control group and n=312 in the experimental group) of grades VIII and IX from schools in Hyderabad, India. The classroom-based intervention resulted in a significant improvement (P<0.01) in nutrition knowledge levels of schoolchildren in the experimental group. Significant improvement in knowledge was also observed in the control group. The effect size indicated that the improvement in knowledge levels of schoolchildren in experimental schools over control schools was medium (d=0.40), indicating the efficacy of the FMFH programme in improving nutrition-related knowledge. No significant decrease (P>0.05) in knowledge levels was observed after 2 months, indicating retention of the knowledge acquired through the intervention. The FMFH programme provides an opportunity for schoolchildren to learn more about nutrition through their teachers in a classroom setting if the lesson plans are adapted to the local circumstances. Furthermore, it has the potential to make nutrition education interactive, effective and sustainable.
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ISSN:1368-9800
1475-2727
DOI:10.1017/PHN2006974