The effect of individual and group education on nutritional habits and nutritional selection of individuals in healthy nutrition

This study was planned and conducted in order to compare the effectiveness of individual and group nutrition education to get healthy nutrition knowledge and habits. Nutrition education were given in two different ways as individually and group nutrition education. Group nutrition education was carried out with 32 female teachers working in a primary school in Ankara and accepting to participate voluntarily. A total of 32 female secretaries, security officers, sales staff and office workers participated in individual nutrition education in a business center in Ankara and accepted to participate in the study voluntarily. Women in both groups are between 19-64 years of age. Individuals who have been diagnosed as pregnant, diagnosed with chronic disease or who need to apply a special diet were not included in the study. The training materials were prepared according to the expectations of the participants and according to "Turkey Nutrition Guide 2015 (TUBER) ". The same materials were used in both groups and were supported visually by power point presentation. The research started in January 2018 after the approval of the research board. The questionnaire was developed by the researcher and the questionnaires were filled by face-to-face interview method. The questionnaire form consisted of demographic characteristics, nutritional knowledge level and nutritional attitudes and behaviors, IPAQ short form, food consumption frequency registration form and anthropometric measurement form. Anthropometric measurements of the participants were performed by the researcher. The questionnaire used in the study was applied to each individual before the trainings started. All sections of the questionnaire, except for demographic characteristics, were repeated at the end of the 4th education and 2 months after the 4th education. The group nutrition training has been held in four interactive sessions between January-March 2018, with a 15-day interval for 20 minutes each. Individual nutrition education was given to individuals in this group separately and 4 times in 20 minutes. In both groups, food consumption and nutrient intake were positively changed in both groups. While these changes were found to be statistically significant within the groups (p <0.001), the differences between the groups were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Similarly, nutritional knowledge scores of the individuals increased during the training period and the scores of the individuals who received group nutrition education were higher. According to the education stages, the increase in nutritional information scores was found to be statistically significant among groups and within groups (p <0.05). On the other hand, the differences between the anthropometric measurements and the education stages of the individuals were found to be significant both within the groups and between the groups (p<0.001). In both groups, no relation was found between nutritional information score and food choice (p>0.05). It was concluded that there is no difference between the group or individual training in the field of healthy nutrition education, and nutrition training can be given to more individuals in a shorter time by group training.