The Effect of Food Guide Pyramid Education on the Knowledge of 5 to 6 Year Old Pre-School Children in one of the Districts of Shiraz, Iran

Introduction & The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of food guide pyramid education on the knowledge of 5 to 6 year-old children in kindergarten in Shiraz, Iran, using play and show methods. 62 children, 5 to 6 years old, were selected from one of the districts of Shiraz pre-schools by random cluster sampling. Subjects were divided into two groups. One group was educated by show and the other group by play and drawings. However, in both groups, they were educated using the same subjects about the food guide pyramid. The results were recorded by some tests before and after the intervention and were analyzed by the SPSS software using two sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test. In both groups, after being taught about food guide pyramids, their knowledge about the number of food groups and recognizing them were improved (P<0.001). In both groups, their knowledge about the priority of any good and bad snack improved after the intervention, but this increase was significant only in the drawing and playing group (P<0.05). In a happy environment, children can gain good capacities for nutrition education and also playing and drawing can provide good interactions. Therefore, this method can be a useful choice for informing the children.