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. 2017 Jul 14;18(1):21.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4580-5.

Effects of selected socio-demographic characteristics on nutrition knowledge and eating behavior of elementary students in two provinces in China

Ling Qian  1 , Fan Zhang  2 , Ian M Newman  3 , Duane F Shell  4 , Weijing Du  5
Affiliations

Effects of selected socio-demographic characteristics on nutrition knowledge and eating behavior of elementary students in two provinces in China

Ling Qian et al. BMC Public Health. .

Erratum in

  • Erratum to: BMC Public Health, Vol. 18.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] BMC Public Health. 2017 Sep 22;17(1):736. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4709-6. BMC Public Health. 2017. PMID: 28938882 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Background: National and international child health surveys have indicated an increase in childhood obesity in China. The increase has been attributed to a rising standard of living, increasing availability of unhealthy foods, and a lack of knowledge about healthy diet. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of selected socio-demographic characteristics on the BMI, nutrition knowledge, and eating behavior of elementary school children.

Methods: Multistage stratified cluster sampling was used. Information on demographics, nutrition knowledge, and eating behavior was gathered by means of questionnaires. The schools' doctors provided the height and weight data. The study was set in one economically advantaged and one economically disadvantaged province in China. The participants were Grade 3 students, ages 8-10 years (N = 3922).

Results: A cluster analysis identified four socio-demographic variables distinguished by parental education and family living arrangement. A one-way ANOVA compared differences among the clusters in BMI, child nutrition knowledge, and child eating behavior. Students in the cluster with lowest parent education level had the lowest nutrition knowledge scores and eating behavior scores. There was no significant benefit from college education versus high school education of parents in the other three clusters. BMI was not affected by parent education level.

Conclusion: The nutrition status of elementary school age children will benefit most by increasing the general level of education for those adults who are presently least educated.

Keywords: BMI; China; Cluster analysis; Demographics; Elementary school children; Nutrition behavior; Nutrition knowledge; Parent education; School-based; Socioeconomic factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The school-based nutrition and exercise health education project and evaluation was approved by the Chinese Center for Health Education of the Chinese Ministry of Health in Beijing, by the provincial government authorities of Shandong Province and Qinghai Province, and by the school administrators. Informed consent was obtained from one parent who signed a document describing the program and agreeing to their child’s involvement.

The Chinese Center for Health Education (Beijing) granted permission for faculty and graduate students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to use the de-identified data to conduct this cluster analysis. The data handling processes were approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (IRB #20151215742EX).

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

References

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