Effects of a nutrition education programme on the dietary habits of a population of students and staff at a centre for higher education

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Abstract
A programme of nutrition education and modification of catering practices was developed with the intention of influencing the eating habits of staff and students who attended a centre for higher education.A questionnaire was used to assess the frequency of consumption of foods before and after the education programme. Seven‐day weighed inventories were conducted to obtain information about portion sizes eaten by the study group. Caterers' purchasing figures were collected and assessed to determine any changes in catering practices. The results indicated that eating habits and catering practices did change within the duration of the project. Intake of wholemeal bread more than doubled while consumption of whole milk was at least halved. The nutrient intake of the student population appeared to be adequate when compared to Dietary Reference Values, apart from the energy, folate and iron intakes of female students which were rather low, Following the education programme, female students reported that the amount of energy obtained from fat had reduced by three percentage points, from 38% to 35%, while male students reported a reduction of five percentage points, from 42% to 37%.

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