Impact of a teachers’ program on food habits and culinary skills in chilean public schools

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate a healthy food program for teachers and their educational transfer through an action plan for 3rd to 5th primary students, to improve their food habits and culinary skills. Methodology: A four months quasi-experimental prospective study was carried out, with qualitative measurements to teachers (n = 43) and pre- and post-intervention quantitative measurements for students (n = 302) in three public schools compared with a control group in other three schools (n = 265) in La Reina county, Santiago, Chile. The teachers received on-line training and at the end of the program they designed an action plan to be implemented at the three intervened schools. Results: Half of the students reported that they had dinner at night. A high percentage had breakfast and lunch twice a day. At the end of the study, the number of students who had lunch twice a day was reduced to a half. Also, the group significantly increased the water and fruits consumption, instead of snacks. In culinary skills, they learned how to prepare healthy sandwiches. As a result, the level of obesity in both groups decreased significantly. The teachers increased water consumption, limited the number of meals to three per day, and decreased the fast food eating. Conclusion: The healthy food training improved the food habits of teachers and students. The support of the headmaster and the staff of the school is required to organize activities to promote healthy food.