Peer-reviewed article
Effect of nutritional education based on the precede-proceed model on improving the growth indicators, knowledge, attitude, and food intake of malnourished children: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial.
Fatemeh Maleki, Amir Bagheri, Shahab Rezaeian, Fatemeh Rajati, Mahmoud Ghasemi et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a study protocol describing a planned randomized trial to test whether nutritional education can improve growth, eating habits, and nutritional knowledge in malnourished school children aged 7 to 12. The intervention uses the PRECEDE-PROCEED model to deliver 8 weeks of nutrition education to 254 children, with measurements taken before, one month after, and three months after the intervention. The study aims to determine if targeted nutrition education can reduce malnutrition and its associated effects on learning and growth. The protocol has been registered but the study results are not yet reported.
Key points
- The study targets 254 malnourished children aged 7-12, randomly assigned to intervention and control groups
- Nutrition education intervention lasts 8 weeks with sessions of 45-60 minutes each
- Outcomes measured include weight for age, height for age, BMI for age, food intake, and knowledge/attitudes using the PRECEDE questionnaire
- Measurements occur at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months after intervention
- School-age children are described as a suitable target for nutrition education because they are at a critical age to establish eating habits
Limitations
This is a study protocol only, so no results or actual findings are available. The document does not specify the country or setting where the trial will be conducted, nor does it describe whether the intervention addresses underlying causes of malnutrition such as food availability or family economic status.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Malnutrition in children is associated with cognitive delays, learning disorders, and disturbances in growth indicators. Inadequate food intake, bad eating habits, lack of nutritional knowledge, low mother's education, and poor economic status are among the causes of malnutrition. School children are more at risk of inappropriate eating behaviors, skipping breakfast, consuming unhealthy snacks, and low physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of nutritional education on improving growth indicators, knowledge, attitudes, and food intake. METHODS: This parallel-arm, open-label, randomized clinical trial study will be conducted on 254 children aged 7 to 12 with malnutrition, who will be randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Nutrition education will be conducted during 8 weeks of intervention, and each session will last 45 to 60 min. However, the control group will not receive any education. Weight for age, height for age, BMI for age, food intake, and PRECEDE questionnaire items will be accessed before the intervention, 1 month later, and 3 months after the intervention. The PRECEDE questionnaire prioritizes educational needs and includes specific subscales: predisposing factors (knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy), reinforcing factors, enabling factors, and behavioral assessment. We will analyze the data based on the intention-to-treat protocol. Also, linear regression will be conducted to determine the effect of the intervention on the outcomes after adjustment for the confounding factors. DISCUSSION: Primary school children are at a special age to improve their eating habits, so they are a suitable target for nutrition education interventions to prevent and treat malnutrition. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to determine whether nutrition education can be effective in improving growth indicators and food intake. The results of this intervention can create a new perspective to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition and improve the symptoms caused by it. TRIAL REGISTRATION: IRCT20181111041611N7. Registered on 2023-07-25. https://www.irct.ir/trial/67548 .
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Nutritional education based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model delivered over 8 weeks in sessions of 45-60 minutes each
- Population
- 254 children aged 7-12 years with malnutrition
Maleki et al. · PubMed (US National Library of Medicine) · 17 Nov 2025