A bibliometric study of food and nutrition education programmes and interventions in schools in Spain

Introduction: 13.9% of children and young people in Spain today are obese, and 26.3% are overweight. It is therefore essential that healthy eating habits be developed early in life. Food and nutrition education, taught as part of health education programmes in schools, plays a fundamental role in instilling this behaviour. Te main goal of this publication was to conduct a bibliometric review in order to analyse the literature on food and nutrition education programmes and interventions in schools in Spain which have been shown to influence health and/or school children’s eating habits.Material and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study of the results obtained from a literature search of the databases Medline, Cochrane Library Plus en Español, Cuiden, Excelencia clínica, IBECS, Scielo, CSIC (ICYT, ISOC e IME), Lilacs, Cuidatge y Teseo. A study of bibliometric indicators: databases, journals, documents published, languages, authorship, index of collaboration, and degree of obsolescence (Burton and Kebler half-life, and Price index).Results: The search provided a total of 148 citations. The final percentage of relevant articles was 49 (33.11%). The database that provided the highest number of pertinent citations was Medline, accounting 24 (48.98%). 42 of the selected citations (85.71%) corresponded to original articles. The journal with the largest number of papers was Nutrición Hospitalaria (Hospital Nutrition), accounting 11 (22.45%). The Burton and Kebler half-life was 6 years and the Price index was 42.86%.Conclusions: Many academic articles have been published concerning food and nutrition education programmes in schools in Spain, indicating the importance of acquiring healthy eating habits and behaviours in childhood and the interest this subject arouses. Introducción: La obesidad en la población infantil y juvenil en España se sitúa actualmente en el 13,9%, y el sobrepeso se encuentra en el 26,3%. Esto hace que sea fundamental la adopción en los primeros años de vida de unos hábitos alimentarios correctos, donde la educación alimentaria y nutricional, desarrollada dentro de los programas de educación para la salud en el medio escolar, juega un papel fundamental. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue analizar, mediante revisión bibliométrica, la producción científica existente sobre programas o intervenciones de educación alimentaria y nutricional desarrollados en el medio escolar en España que muestran influencia en la salud y/o en los hábitos ali