Nutritional Status and Dietary behavior of School Children in Diamond Level Health Promotion School, Regional Heath Promotion center 2 Phitsanulok.

Abstract

This study is a survey research to explore nutritional status and dietary habits of school children in diamond level health promotion school in health region 2. Data collecting was performed between November to December, 2014 by measured height and weight to assess the nutritional status of 547 sampling unit of school children. The dietary habit of school children also has been gathered. Then, descriptive statistic analysis to analyze the quantitative data and content analysis to find out related qualitative context has been carried out. The result was shown that 70.9% of school children were grown up well and accomplished Thai standard evaluation of child growth and development. It was also found that 76.5% of student has proper physical body and shape. However, 10.8% of student was in slightly overweight to obesity category. The rest of student was 8.4% of thin and quite skinny while 6.1% of student was stunning or rather stunning. There were 77% of students that have proper weight according to the criteria. The dietary habits investigation revealed that 84.4% of student has breakfast every day, 82.2% of student has lunch every day, and 82.4% of student has dinner or supper every day. It was interesting that 15.9% of student have meal before bedding time. When collecting data of food category that student eat, the percentage of student that was eating egg 1-3 day per week, hog or chicken liver and blood 1-3 day per week, lean pork or meat such as bacon/pork neck/chicken skin 1-3 day per week, and eating deep fried and oily food 1-3 day per week were 50.9%, 59.4%, 59.1% and 48.4% respectively. The result also indicated that that 10.7% of student was always eating salty food, 38.4% of student always add sugar in food, 46.0% of student was eating vegetable every day, 49.1% of student was eating vegetable 3 food meal every day, 43.4% of student eating more than 3 table spoon full in each food meal. The student that drink non-sweet milk every day, drink sour taste milk more than 3 days per week, drink flavored milk more than 3 days per week, drink aerated soft drink more than 3 days per week, drink sweeten or smoothie more than 3 day per week  were 34.0%, 43.9%, 22.9%, 26.1%, and 29.6% respectively. There were 27.8% of student that never eat sweet or candy while 27.8 of student that was 52.9% of student that was eating snack more than 3 days per week. These outcome from diamond level of health promotion school were pointed that although the school can accomplished the criteria and national standard, the unsatisfied nutritional status of student for example, overweight, stunning, and improper dietary behavior are still exist. Even diamond level of health promotion school has clearly policy, measure, process, activity, and indicator on quality control of lunch food and break food in school including controlling of sweet dessert, sweet soft drink, and fatty and salty food and snack in school. However, because inconsistency of its operation and lacking of student’s health literacy leading to inappropriate nutritional behavior of student. Thus, all stakeholders including the ministry of education, ministry of public health, the local administrative organization, family, and community have to participate in progress of health promoting school continuously and emphasize on health literacy development to conduct the desirable behavior of school children and ensure that the goals on healthy, smart, proper physical body will be achieved