Effects of Balanced-Diet Dramatic Performance Application of Children’s Nutrition Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of balanced diet drama intervention in nutrition education on the dietary behavior of elementary school children. Using a pre-test and post-test design, the second graders of elementary school were given self-made questionnaires before, one month and six months after the intervention to evaluate the nutritional knowledge and food cognition. The sample number of schoolchildren was 1755, and the average recovery rate of valid questionnaires was 68%. After the intervention of balanced-diet dramatic performance, there was significant differences on eating habit, life habit, nutritional knowledge and food cognition in tested students ( p < 0.05), and the significant differences persisted to six months after the intervention. Before the intervention, the correct rates of food cognition in tested student on whole grains, fruits, the group of oils, fats, nuts and seeds, the group of Legumes, fish, eggs and meat, vegetables were 3.2%, 75.4%, 38.7%, 13.8%, and 12.9%, respectively. After one month and six months of intervention, the cognitive correct rates in tested student on whole grains, fruits, the group of Legumes, fish, eggs and meat, and vegetables increased significantly to 18.3% and 7.5%, 82.2% and 84.1%, and 51.5% and 51.5%. 53.8%, 40.0% and 31.4% ( p < 0.05). After one month of intervention, the cognitive correct rate of the group of oils, nuts and seeds was significantly increased to 20.6% ( p < 0.05), and there was no significant difference after six months of intervention. Our data suggested that balanced-diet dramatic performance had long-term memory effect on nutrition education of children. Through generalized estimating equation analysis, it was found that nutritional knowledge significantly affects children’s cognitive ability of food.