1.
Evaluation of a nutrition intervention in adolescents of an urban area in Greece: short- and long-term effects of the VYRONAS study.
Mihas, C, Mariolis, A, Manios, Y, Naska, A, Arapaki, A, Mariolis-Sapsakos, T, Tountas, Y
Public health nutrition. 2010;(5):712-9
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess the short-term (15-d) and long-term (12-month) effects of a school-based health and nutrition education intervention on diet, nutrition intake and BMI. DESIGN The 12-week teacher-implemented intervention in combination with seminars organized for parents was aimed at improving children's diet and nutrition knowledge. The intervention took place between September 2007 and January 2008. The participants were randomized to two study groups, the intervention group (IG) and control group (CG), and were examined prior to the intervention on a variety of health knowledge, dietary, behavioural and anthropometric indices. The same measurements were collected 15 d and 1 year after the intervention. SETTING All high schools in Vyronas, a densely populated district of Athens, Greece. SUBJECTS The sample consisted of 191 students aged 12-13 years. RESULTS Twelve months after the intervention, the programme was effective in reducing various indices in the IG compared with baseline findings (BMI: 23.3 (sd 2.8) v. 24.0 (sd 3.1) kg/m2, P < 0.001; daily energy intake: 8112.4 (sd 1412.4) v. 8503.3 (sd 1419.3) kJ/d, P < 0.001; total fat intake: 31.3 (sd 4.4) v. 35.4 (sd 4.7) % of daily energy, P < 0.001). Except for BMI, decreases in the aforementioned indices were also observed 15 d after the intervention. In addition, students of the IG reduced their weekly consumption of red meat and non-home-made meals and increased their frequency of fruit and breakfast cereal consumption. CONCLUSIONS The beneficial effects of this nutrition education intervention among adolescents may highlight the potential of such programmes in the prevention of obesity.
2.
Changes in diet quality score, macro- and micronutrients intake following a nutrition education intervention in postmenopausal women.
Manios, Y, Moschonis, G, Katsaroli, I, Grammatikaki, E, Tanagra, S
Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association. 2007;(2):126-31
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The aim of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of a nutrition education programme on post-menopausal women using self-reported nutrient intake data as well as a qualitative data obtained by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI). MATERIALS AND METHODS Seventy-five women (55-65 years old) were randomized to a dietary intervention group (IG: n=39), attending regular nutrition education sessions for 5 months and to a control group (CG: n=36). The intervention scheme was based on a combined application of the Health Belief Model and the Social Cognitive Theory, aiming to increase nutritional knowledge and self-efficacy of the subjects to adopt and maintain healthy dietary choices. Changes in self-reported macro- and micronutrients' intake as well as in the HEI total score and in its ten components were obtained. RESULTS The IG subjects reported increasing their milk (P<0.001) and total fat (P=0.01) HEI scores, decreasing total fat intake (P=0.050) and increasing calcium and vitamin D intakes (P<0.001 respectively) to a higher extent compared with the changes reported by the CG. CONCLUSION The current nutrition education programme appears to have induced favourable changes for the IG in micronutrients' intake primarily related to bone health and in total fat intake. These changes were reflected in the individual HEI indices but not in total HEI score.