"Knowledge, application, and the impact of nutrition education of porti" by Denise Fearday

Graduate Program

Nutrition and Dietetics

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Semester of Degree Completion

2012

Thesis Director

Karla Kennedy-Hagan

Thesis Committee Member

Carla Honselman

Thesis Committee Member

Mary Lou Hubbard

Abstract

The rising rates of obesity in children and adolescents are a cause for concern and an opportunity to educate youth on prevention strategies regarding obesity. Studies have shown that adolescents carry their knowledge and habits of eating into adulthood, and therefore should be educated when young to prevent obesity at an older age. A nutrition education workshop was presented to a group of adolescent females to determine their knowledge and application of portion sizes. The workshop was designed as a pretest-intervention-posttest study with an objective of determining the impact of a portion size workshop on the knowledge and attitudes of the participants. Adolescent participants completed a pretest questionnaire to determine their knowledge and application of portion sizes in everyday food choices, participated in the portion size workshop, and then completed a posttest questionnaire to determine the effectiveness of the workshop. Analyses were conducted by the researcher and results were tabulated to determine effectiveness. Results showed that participants gained knowledge regarding portion sizes, including ways to make better food choices in the future, and showed an improvement in the participants' determination of correct serving sizes. Overall, positive results were gained from the study showing that a nutrition education workshop was effective in increasing the knowledge and attitudes of adolescents regarding portion sizes, which in tum can serve as a prevention measure for obesity.

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