Nutrition education using video improves iron intake and dietary diversity among adolescents: a quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Background: Nutrition education is crucial for improving school children’s nutritional knowledge, fostering positive attitudes towards food, and developing healthy eating habits to address the triple burden of malnutrition currently affecting adolescents. This study aims to determine the impact of nutrition education videos on iron intake and dietary diversity among adolescents living in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental design using a non-randomized pre-post test with a control group. The intervention study involved 69 adolescents: 34 in the intervention group and 35 in the control group. Group assignment was determined by a lottery method from two selected schools with similar characteristics, located within the working area of a community health center (Puskesmas) with the highest prevalence of anemia in Makassar City. The intervention group received nutrition education through weekly educational videos, delivered every Friday for seven consecutive weeks, totalling seven videos. In contrast, the control group only received a single session of educational video exposure over one week. To ensure full exposure to the intervention, all participants in the intervention group were required to watch all videos; those who missed any session were excluded from the study. Iron intake was assessed using the Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (SQ-FFQ), and dietary diversity was measured using a 24-hour dietary recall before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test to compare pre-test and post-test scores and the Mann-Whitney test to compare between groups. Results: The intervention significantly increased both iron intake (P-value = 0.000, p < 0.05) and dietary diversity (P-value = 0.000, p < 0.05) in the intervention group compared to the control group. Conclusion: Nutrition education effectively increased iron intake and dietary diversity in the intervention group compared to the control group.