Researching the effect of the education related to nutrition given in the district boarding primary schools on the food consumption

The purpose of this study is to research whether the nutrition education given in the District Boarding Primary Schools to students made a significant difference in knowledge and behaviours of students on the food consumption. In line with this purpose 324 students from; 6th 7th and 8th classes of second-level in the Boarding Primary School in Arıcak, Elazığ are considered within the scope of this study.The ?Empirical Method? is used for this study. Therefore, the research is organised according to the empirical design with controlled pre and final test models. To this end, students are divided into two groups named empirical group and control group.A sample survey, which is developed by the researcher, composed of questions related with students and their families, and information and attitudes about the nutrition habits is applied to all of the students at the same time, consequently the remainings of the two groups taken from the three main meals during a consecutive three-day-period are weighed and recorded to the observation form. After pre-test, the empirical group are given education related to nutrition and as the final test, questions aimed to determine the information and attitudes about the nutrition habits which took place in the pre test is applied to all of the students at the same time, consequently the remainings of the two groups taken from the three main meals during a consecutive three-day-period are weighed and recorded to the observation form.The samle survey and the observation forms, the information related to the students and the families, the information related to the students? information and attitudes toward the nutrition, and the information about the food consumption amounts are summed up and evaluated by using number (n), Percentage (%), arithmetic average ( ), standard deviation (sd), Independent-Samples T Test, Paired-Samples T Test analysis methods.As a consequence of the research, it is observed that the education level of the sample students? parents is low. It is seen in the sample group that the highest distribution related to the breakfast meal skipped by the samples in the pre test is 38.5 % with a frequency of once in two weeks but this number has regressed to 25.0 % after the education given. Whereas the 34.6% of the students don?t skip the breakfast meal in the pre test, this rate is proved to be 66.7% after the education related to nutrition. The highest distribution in the sample group related to the lunch meal skipped by the samples in the pre test is 51.9 % with a frequency of once or twice in a week. The rate of the same skipping frequency has regressed to 17.9% in the final test. While 28.2% of the sample students did not skip the lunch meal in the pre test, this number increased to 55% in the final test. It is found that 28.8% of the sample students did not skip the dinner meal in the pre test and that this number increased to 55.7% in the final test. It is seen that the nutrition education given to the empirical group students generally decreased the meal skipping behaviours in all meals .Whereas the average score of nutrition information is 3.10 for the pre test, this number increased to 9.05 in the final test. The difference between the two tests are considered to be significant (p<.001) and it is concluded that the education given has an effect on the information level of the sample students.An increase occured in the food consuption of the sample students in general. After the education the difference between the groups considered significant as of the consumption of white cheese, yoghurt, macaroni with cheese, spinach with eggs, dry bean, vegetables with meat, boiled and pounded wheat, bread, appetizers, and tea.In the light of the findings obtained from this research, it is suggested that the education activities concerning students, teachers, directors and personnel should be focused on and the usage of the methods which will reduce or eliminate the negative habits such as skipping meals or food preference in the meal preparation process.