Addressing schoolteacher food and nutrition-related health and wellbeing: a scoping review of the food and nutrition constructs used across current research.

BACKGROUND: Teachers form a large and essential workforce globally. Their wellbeing impacts personal health-related outcomes with flow on effects for the health, and wellbeing of their students. However, food and nutrition (FN) interventions that include teachers, typically neglect the impact of personal FN factors on a teachers' ability to achieve optimal nutrition-related health and wellbeing, and successfully fulfil their professional FN roles as health promoters, gate keepers, educators', and role models. The aim of this review was to scope FN constructs that have been studied internationally regarding teacher FN-related health and wellbeing. METHODS: Six databases were searched, and papers extracted in June/July 2021. Eligibility criteria guided by the population, concept, context mnemonic included studies published after 2000, in English language, with an aspect of personal FN-related health and wellbeing, among in-service (practising) and pre-service (training), primary, and secondary teachers. Screening studies for inclusion was completed by two independent researchers with data extraction piloted with the same reviewers and completed by lead author, along with complete descriptive and thematic analysis. RESULTS: Ten thousand six hundred seventy-seven unique articles were identified with 368 eligible for full text review and 105 included in final extraction and analysis. Sixty-nine descriptive studies were included, followed by 35 intervention studies, with the main data collection method used to assess both personal and professional FN constructs being questionnaires (n = 99 papers), with nutrition knowledge and dietary assessment among the most commonly assessed. CONCLUSION: FN constructs are used within interventions and studies that include teachers, with diversity in constructs included and how these terms are defined. The evidence from this scoping review can be used to inform data collection and evaluation in future epidemiological and interventional research that addresses teacher FN-related health and wellbeing.

Effectiveness of school-based nutrition intervention components on fruit and vegetable intake and nutrition knowledge in children aged 4-12 years old: an umbrella review.

CONTEXT: School-based nutrition interventions can support healthy eating in children. OBJECTIVE: To identify components of school-based nutrition interventions and synthesize the impact on consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV) and nutrition knowledge (NK) in children aged 4-12 y. DATA SOURCES: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and PICOS inclusion criteria, relevant systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses, written in English, published between 2010 and August 2020, across 6 databases were identified. DATA EXTRACTION: Two reviewers independently performed data extraction and assessed the study quality. DATA ANALYSIS: The JBI Critical Appraisal Instrument for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses was used to assess review quality, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach was used to rate strength of evidence. RESULTS: From 8 included reviews, 7 intervention components were identified: FV provision, gaming/computer-delivered, curriculum, experiential learning, reward/incentives, nudging, and caregiver involvement. FV provision had the greatest effect on F intake, gaming/computer-delivered on V intake, and curriculum on NK. CONCLUSION: FV provision and gaming/computer-delivered components showed, overall, some positive effect on FV intake, as did the curriculum component on NK. More evidence evaluating single-component effectiveness that considers the setting and context of nutrition interventions is required to strengthen the evidence base. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO, registration no.: CRD42020152394.

Evaluating an integrated nutrition and mathematics curriculum: primary school teachers' and students' experiences.

OBJECTIVE: To present the process evaluation of a curricular Cross-curricular Unit on Portion Size (CUPS) program that integrates nutrition and mathematics, describing teacher and student perspectives on the intervention. DESIGN: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted following the implementation of the CUPS program during a pilot randomised controlled trial designed to evaluate efficacy for improved portion size estimation. Lessons involved experiential learning using food models and mathematics cubes and focussed on portion size, food groups, volume and capacity. Data were collected immediately post-intervention and analysed using an inductive thematic approach. SETTING: Primary schools in Newcastle, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Year 3 and/or 4 teachers (n 3) and their students (n 15). RESULTS: Teachers believed the programme supported the learning of nutrition concepts, with the majority of students enjoying the lessons, cubes and food models. Teachers indicated most students were engaged and became more aware of healthy eating and serve size recommendation. Although teachers enjoyed and valued the lessons, they suggested that the integration of volume and capacity should be further improved in order to address the time barrier for teaching nutrition. CONCLUSION: The process evaluation reports on challenges and successes of implementing an integrative nutrition programme. This teaching approach could be useful and successful when aligned with teacher' and student' needs. Based on participant feedback, lessons could be refined to enhance integration of mathematics content and to support student learning.

Nutrition across the curriculum: a scoping review exploring the integration of nutrition education within primary schools.

Primary schools contribute to promoting healthy eating behaviour and preventing overweight and obesity by providing nutrition education. Research highlights the importance of improving teachers' programme implementation to enhance intervention effectiveness. An integrative approach has been suggested to reduce time barriers that teachers currently experience in teaching nutrition. This scoping review explores use and effectiveness of integrative teaching in primary-school-based nutrition education programmes. Six databases were searched for primary-school-based interventions on nutrition education. Papers reporting on integration of nutrition topics within core curriculum were included. Abstracts and full texts of potentially relevant articles were screened to determine eligibility. Next, data were extracted and tabulated. Findings were collated and summarised to describe intervention characteristics, subject integration and effectiveness of the included programmes. Data describing integration of nutrition into the primary school curriculum were extracted from 39 eligible papers. Nutrition education programmes often involve lessons about food groups and are frequently embedded within the mathematics, science or literacy syllabus. Although articles report on the integration of nutrition, the use of this approach was not commonly described in detail. Only seven papers discussed student outcomes related to the integration of nutrition education within core subjects. The ability to draw strong conclusions about school-based nutrition intervention effectiveness is limited by the current lack of programme description and methodological issues. Hence, more research is warranted to inform evidence on effectiveness of integrative nutrition education for both teacher and student outcomes. Future studies that include greater detail regarding the integrative approach are needed.

Integrating nutrition into the mathematics curriculum in Australian primary schools: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Nutrition education programs in schools have been effective in improving children's knowledge and behaviours related to food and nutrition. However, teachers find it challenging to implement such programs due to overcrowded curricula. Integrating nutrition with core subjects such as mathematics could potentially address time constraints and improve the learning of both. The primary aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to evaluate the impact of a cross-curricular nutrition and mathematics program on primary school students' portion size estimation skills. Secondary aims include impact on their nutrition knowledge, attitudes towards mathematics and evaluating the quality of the lessons. METHODS: Twelve Year 3-4 classes from Catholic schools in New South Wales, Australia will be randomised to intervention (n = 6) or control (n = 6) groups. Teachers in the intervention group will receive a professional development workshop and resources to teach 4-5 lessons on portion size and measurements across 1-4 weeks. Outcome measures include portion size estimation skills, nutrition knowledge and attitudes towards mathematics, with data collected during three school visits (pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, 4 weeks post-intervention). Additionally, teaching quality will be assessed in both intervention and control groups and process evaluation undertaken using teacher interviews and student focus groups. DISCUSSION: This RCT uses an innovative approach to improve both nutrition and mathematics related learning outcomes among primary school children. It has the potential to impact teaching practices regarding integration of nutrition into curricula and enhance the implementation of nutrition education interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register ACTRN12619001071112 31/07/2019.

Effectiveness of maternal dietary interventions for improving mother and infant health outcomes: an umbrella review protocol.

REVIEW QUESTION/OBJECTIVE: The objective of this umbrella review is to determine the characteristics of dietary interventions delivered any time before, during or after pregnancy for women living in developed countries, identified in quantitative systematic reviews as effective for improving mother and infant health outcomes and feasible for translation into practice.Specifically, the review will address the following questions:For the purpose of this overview, dietary interventions encompass the broad scope of dietary manipulations, including the direct provision of food and/or nutrients to participants, nutrition education, nutrition counseling, nutrition care teams, or any combination of these four intervention types.Both a narrative and quantitative summary on the effect of maternal dietary interventions on maternal and infant health outcomes as compared with usual care will be provided. The quantitative summary of the maternal and infant outcomes will be supported by an appraisal of the certainty of evidence of the effects and the strength of the recommendations using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework.