Tehran University Medical Journal

---

Background: Adolescence (10-19 years) is one of the most challenging periods in human development. A second period of rapid growth occurs during the teen years. Not much information is available on the effect of the socio-economic status on the outcome of nutrition education in teenage girls. Objective : The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of socio- economic status on the efficacy of nutrition education in promoting the nutritional knowledge, attitude and practice in first-grade guidance school girls in Tehran.

Material & Methods: A total of 300 students were selected from 11 guidance schools by simple sampling and divided into three groups: 1- guide-book, 2- group discussion, 3- control. The knowledge and attitude data were collected using pre-test and post-test questionnaires and the personal-socioeconomic data were collected using general questionnaires. The students in group 1 were given the guide-book and required to study it at home, while group 2 students were told to discuss among themselves the contents of the guide-book. The control group was given nothing to study or to do.

Results: Nutrition education did not have a significant effect on the increase in the attitude score in the students whose grade-point average and their mother’s education level were high. (p= 0.13, p=0.29). Only mother’s education level independently from the type of education was associated with the difference of knowledge score means (p =0.07).There was interaction between nutritional education and monthly pocket- money with regard to the increase in the knowledge score (p =0.03).

Conclusion: Overall, exception of monthly pocket money, the effect of education on the nutritional knowledge and attitude was independent from other variables. Only mother’s education associate with the difference of knowledge score means.

---

Background and Aim: Prevalence of malnutrition is high in under-5 years old children and mother’s nutritional knowledge, attitude, practice(KAP) is associated to nutritional status of children and lack of nutritional knowledge and their poor practices can be considered of prominent causes of children malnutrition. This study carried out to assess the nutritional knowledge, attitude and practice of mothers.

Materials and Methods: In this study a group of 632 mothers who had at least one child aged 6-36 month old referred to Kerman health centers were selected to evaluate their nutritional KAP. The data were collected using questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with the mothers and from children health care records. The KAP questionnaires were completed and scores were rated as: optimum, relatively optimum and poor for subjects that achieved 80% – 100%, 60% – 80% and < 60% of high scores respectively.

Results: The findings of this study indicated that 40/2%, 73/6% and 26/9% of mothers had respectively optimum knowledge, attitude and practice. A statistically significant association was found between mother education and maternal nutritional knowledge, attitude and practice. And family income had a statistically significant association with knowledge and not with practice and attitude. There was no association between mother age and knowledge, attitude, practice. And was found a significant positive association between knowledge, attitude, practice.

Conclusion: Education of mothers concerning nutritional requirements of children make them possible to benefit a proper nutritional program.

---

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of two different regimes, containing different carbohydrate to protein ratios on performance, serum glucose and insulin after exercise in soccer players in Tehran Iran.

Methods: Nineteen male soccer players under training [age = 17/5 +/- 1.5 (SE) yr] were selected and completed two sequential trials separated by 1 week, in a paired cross-over study design. In each trial, subjects after running to fatigue received one of three regimes, using a random- order design as follows: HPRO ( CHO 56%, PRO 19% & fat 25% of total energy) HCHO ( CHO 64%, PRO 11% & fat 25% of total energy) or control ( CHO 60%, PRO 15% & fat 25% of total energy). The calorie of 3 regimes were equal. After consumption of meal up to120 min, blood was obtained before and at intervals. After 3 hours athlete performance was measured.

Results: The study indicates no significant difference in the serum insulin and glucose response among three regimes (P > 0.05). There was no difference in performance between three regimes after 3 h (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: The results suggest that post exercise regimes have no influence on performance, serum glucose and serum insulin. Thus total energy content and carbohydrate content may be important in recovery after exercise.

---

Background: Nutrition as an important factor in health can be effective in educational success of students. Malnourished students have less concentration and attention. Lack of breakfast consumption for a long period has negative effect in behavior and health. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of a nutritional teaching booklet about breakfast on the knowledge of fourth grade girls at Tehran’s 6th educational and teaching district.
Methods: This interventional study performed on 100 fourth grade girls from 10 schools in Tehran city, randomly divided into two groups case who received booklet and control group. Subject: At first a pretest of knowledge was done for all the students (case and control). The case group was given the booklet to read by themselves. No teaching provided for the control group. A knowledge posttest was performed two weeks later. Two types of questionnaires (general and knowledge) were used to collect data. The following methods were used: chisquare test for comparing case and control groups from the aspect of independent variables, pair t- test for comparing the knowledge scores between case and control groups and one-way ANOVA for assessment of independent variables effect on the mean difference of knowledge in samples.
Results: The mean score of knowledge in the case group against the control increased 2.22 (p<0.001). The one-way ANOVA method showed that none of the independent variables (family size, parents’ career and educational level, dinner breakfast sleeping and waking up time, the person who prepares breakfast at home, breakfast consumption status in other members of family) had significant effect on the mean of the knowledge scores’ difference.
Conclusions: The results of this study showed the nutritional teaching booklet about breakfast caused an increase in the knowledge of this age group of girl students.