Perception and attitude on oral health related nutrition policies of elementary school nutritionists and school nurses / 대한구강보건학회지

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to identify the perception and attitude of school nutritionists and school nurses at elementary schools for oral health related nutrition policies. METHODS: The subjects for this study included 1,051 elementary school nutritionists, nutrition teachers and school nurses in the Seoul, Gyeonggi and Jeolla provinces. self-administered surveys were conducted for the subjects of the study selected using the convenience sampling method. RESULTS: Sugar content labeling policies showed the highest approval rate among the oral health related nutrition policies, while policies for taxing sugary foods were the lowest. Overall, the highest acceptance rate was “traffic light labeling policies for food that causes dental caries” followed by “sugar content labeling policies.” Factors that had impact on oral health related nutrition policies included age, workplace, work experience, employment type and work category. The subjects agreed with most of the oral health nutrition policies. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition policies to improve oral health were required and a legal system that can support this is necessary.