The relationship between mothers' nutrition knowledge level and children's nutritional status and diet quality in primary school students in rural and urban areas

This study was carried out to evaluate the relationship between mothers' nutritional knowledge level, nutritional status and diet quality of children and their mothers studying at Kahramanmaraş İsmail Kurtul Primary School in the urban area and Kahramanmaraş Türkoğlu Sultan Alparslan Primary School in the rural area between October 2020 and April 2021. A total of 200 students (Rural: 100, Urban: 100; Girls: 55.0%; Boys: 45.0%) and their mothers were included in the study. The demographic characteristics of the children, their eating habits, their 24-hour dietary intake and the Mediterranean Diet Adaptation Index (KIDMED) score, as well as the demographic characteristics of the mothers and the Nutrition Knowledge Level for Adults Scale (NKLAS) score were determined. Height, body weight and body mass index (BMI) values of children aged 8 years were higher than those of boys living in urban areas (130.5±6.7 cm, 31.4±6.1 kg, 18.3±2.0 kg/m2, respectively). It was found to be higher than that in the region (123.9±3.1 cm, 23.9±2.1 kg, 15.5±1.2 kg/m2, respectively) (p<0.05). BMI values were found to be higher in children living in urban areas compared to those in rural areas. The average daily energy intake of children in both genders living in the urban area (Boys: 1007.7±150.5 kcal, Girls: 1028.7±148.9 kcal), compared to the rural area (Boys: 932.8±173.6 kcal, Girls: 951.0±171.7 kcal) was found to be high (p<0.05). Except for vitamins A, E and B12, it was determined that children living in urban areas had higher intakes of energy and nutrients than those living in rural areas (p<0.05). The mean KIDMED score of children living in urban areas (7.5±1.5) was higher than those in rural areas (5.3±1.6). The rate of being in the good score category was found to be higher in urban (60.0%) than in rural areas (10.0%) (p<0.05). Basic nutrition and food preference knowledge mean score in mothers living in urban areas (56.7±5.7, 40.4±4.4, respectively) compared to rural (37.5±5.5, 31.9±3.1, respectively) was found to be high (p<0.05). As the mother's food preference score increases, childrens' compliance with the Mediterranean diet increases (p<0.05). For both regions, a positive correlation was found between the mothers' nutritional knowledge score and their children's BMI, height and body weight (p<0.05). When the result was considered in terms of healthy nutrition, it had been determined that there were some important differences between the nutritional knowledge level of mothers in urban and rural areas and KIDMED and the maternal's nutrition score, in this direction, considering the importance of healthy nutrition awareness for children, importance should be given to the development of all segments of the society.