Effectiveness of nutrition education in improving fruit and vegetable consumption among selected college students in urban Puducherry, South India. A pre-post intervention study

Abstract

Abstract Objectives World Health Organization (WHO) suggests intake of five servings (400 g) of fruits and vegetables (F&V) per day to ensure an adequate dietary fibre and to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases. Risk factor survey of Non-Communicable Diseases (2007–08), reports that only 1% population in Tamil Nadu, South India consumed more than five servings a day. So we aimed to assess the effectiveness of nutrition education in improving the daily intake of fruit and vegetable servings and stage of behaviour change among college students. Methods A pre-post intervention study was conducted among undergraduate students from two selected women’s colleges in urban Puducherry, South India during September–October 2019. The two English departments were randomly allocated into intervention group (IG), control group (CG) and 75 students in each group were chosen by systematic random sampling. IG received 30 min of nutrition education programme; which includes importance and minimum daily intake of fruits & vegetables, local availability, cost and awareness about myths and misconceptions. CG received pamphlets regarding healthy dietary intake. Knowledge regarding portion sizes, average daily servings of fruit & vegetable intake and stage of behaviour change were assessed at baseline and after one month of intervention. Results There was a significant increase in knowledge regarding portion sizes (28– 64%) after intervention in IG (p<0.001) compared to CG (24– 40%). The knowledge regarding the required number of servings of fruits (27–56%) and vegetables (15–58%) also increased significantly (p<0.001) in the IG. Intake of fruits, vegetables and juices in the last 24 h were significantly increased in IG compared to CG (p<0.001). There was a significant increase (p=0.002) in contemplation and preparation stage (13–34%) in IG after intervention. Conclusions A well designed nutrition education programme is an effective tool in promoting healthy eating habits among adolescents. It enabled a significant increase in knowledge regarding portion sizes of F&V and daily intake of fruits and vegetables.