Urban gardening activities and nutrition education through board games improved knowledge related to vegetables and fruits among girls and overweight children in Malaysian primary school: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND

Fruits and vegetables are crucial for children's growth and provide essential nutrients for maintaining a healthy body. However, most Malaysian children consume inadequate fruits and vegetables. This study aims to determine the Effectiveness of urban gardening and nutrition education through a board game on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of fruit and vegetable consumption among primary school children in Malaysia.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental study was conducted on 10-year-old children at a selected Primary School in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Seventy-two participants were recruited through the convenience sampling method. The intervention group received the intervention program within 2 months, which consisted of a talk about fruits and vegetables, educational gardening, cooking activities and playing an educational board game. While the control group only received a talk about fruits and vegetables from a dietitian. The height and weight of the participants were measured to obtain their Body Mass Index (BMI). The changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices of fruit and vegetable consumption were measured using a self-administered structured questionnaire.

RESULTS

This study successfully enhanced awareness and knowledge of fruit and vegetable consumption among girls (p = 0.010) but not among boys (p = 0.272) in the intervention group. In addition, knowledge related to fruit and vegetable consumption was significantly improved among overweight and obese participants (p = 0.033), but no significant improvement was observed among participants with normal BMI or underweight (p = 0.215) in the intervention group. The attitude (p = 0.980) and practice (p = 0.233) of fruit and vegetables showed no statistically significant improvement after the intervention.

CONCLUSION

Engaging in urban gardening activities and playing a nutrition-educational board game has the potential to be used as a strategy for enhancing knowledge about fruit and vegetable consumption among girls and children who are overweight and obese.