Effect of Interactive Nutrition and Health Education Intervention on Knowledge and Practices of Indian School Children and Their Parents

The purpose of the present study was to identify the effect of an interactive health and nutrition education intervention on the knowledge and practices of school children and their parents. An experimental-control pre-post study, wherein 246 students (10–12 years) and their parents, from two schools, were enrolled for the study and divided into experimental (n = 121) and control (n = 125) groups. The experimental group received an interactive health and nutrition intervention for 3 months, which included PPT’s and various games/activities. One month after the intervention period, post-data was collected from both groups, to identify the effect. Knowledge and practices regarding health, nutrition, and physical activity were studied. All the data were analysed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS-23 software. A significant change was observed in fruit (p < .001), vegetable (p < .05), and water intake (p < .05) of experimental group children in comparison to the control group. Physical activity (moderate/vigorous) for 60 minutes or more increased by 21.5% among the intervention group. Knowledge change in health and nutrition parameters was also observed. A reduction in the parental practice of giving ultra-processed food to a child’s lunch box was also seen post-4 months among the experimental group. The interactive education package delivered to school children and parents had a positive impact on their knowledge and practices and can be used as a tool to tackle and prevent the increasing triple burden of child malnutrition in India. Long-term studies in terms of the Indian context are warranted.