Journal of Education and Health Promotion

The effect of a nutrition education intervention on knowledge, attitude, and intake of foods high in fats in women

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Fatemeh Zeynalzadeh Borjloo 1
. Tahereh Dehdari 1
. Jamileh Abolghasemi 2
. Fatemehsadat Amiri 3
. Ali Vasheghani‑Farahani 4

1 Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

4 Department of Electrophysiology, Tehran Heart Center and Cardiac Primary Prevention Research Center, Cardiovascular Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Given that many Iranian were interested in the consumption of foods that are high
in fats, the present study was done to determine the effect of a nutrition education intervention on
knowledge, attitude, and intake of foods high in fat among a sample of women in Tehran.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this quasi‑experimental study, 92 female referrals to the health
houses affiliated to Tehran municipal were selected and assigned to either intervention (n = 46) or
control (n = 46) groups. Information (data) regarding women’s knowledge, attitude, and practice in
terms of foods rich in fat intake was collected by three questionnaires. Then, a nutrition education
intervention included four 40–60 min training sessions over 4 weeks was designed and conducted
to the study participants in the intervention group. Two groups were followed up 2 months after the
intervention. Finally, all data were analyzed by using the independent‑samples t‑tests, Student’s
paired‑samples t‑test, and Pearson correlation analysis on the R software (version 6.3.2).
RESULTS: The results showed that there were significant reductions in a positive attitude  towards food
with high fat content and intake of these foods in the intervention group compared with the control
group after the intervention (P < 0.001). Furthermore, following the intervention, the intervention group
reported a significant increase in dietary fat nutrition knowledge than the control group (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: Developing nutrition education interventions is an effective strategy for reducing the
consumption of foods rich in fat in Iranian women.

Keywords

Attitude
diet
health education
high‑fat
knowledge
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Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 11, Issue 5
June 2021
Pages 1-6

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