Abstract
Head Start teachers are responsible for providing nutrition education to over 1 million
low-income children annually, yet little is known about their nutrition-related knowledge,
attitudes, and behaviors. The purpose of this study is to assess the self-reported
nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among Head Start teachers from one urban
Head Start organization in Harris County, TX. A cross-sectional, descriptive analysis
was conducted using baseline surveys in the 2008-2009 school year. One hundred eighty-one
Head Start teachers completed self-reported surveys of their nutrition knowledge,
attitudes, behaviors, weight status, and other weight-related behaviors. The sample
was predominantly female (97%) and minority (93%); 24% were overweight and 55% were
obese. One fourth of the sample did not consume fruit (26%) or vegetables (23%) the
previous day. Half of the teachers reported consuming french fries (52%) and soda
(44%), and one fourth consumed fried meat (28%) at least once on the previous day.
Only four teachers (3%) answered at least four of the five nutrition knowledge questions
correctly. Half of the teachers (54%) agreed that it was hard to know which nutrition
information to believe, and only 9% reported that their nutrition habits were healthy.
A majority of teachers were trying to lose weight (71%) and said they would like to
weigh less (81%). This study underscores the importance of providing nutrition education
and wellness opportunities to Head Start teachers to better enable them to teach nutrition
education to their students and to improve their own health.
Keywords
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Biography
S. Sharma is an assistant professor of epidemiology, Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX.
Biography
K. S. Dortch is a fellow, Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX.
Biography
C. Byrd-Williams is a postdoctoral fellow, Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus, Austin, TX.
Biography
D. Hoelscher is a professor of health promotion and director, Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus, Austin, TX.
Biography
J. B. Truxillio is director, Research and Evaluation/Research Institute of Texas, Harris County Department of Education, Houston, TX.
Biography
P. Bonsu is a research coordinator, Research and Evaluation/Research Institute of Texas, Harris County Department of Education, Houston, TX.
Biography
G. A. Rahman is health and family services manager, Harris County Department of Education Head Start, Houston, TX.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 14, 2013
Accepted:
November 30,
2012
Available online 14 February 2013Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This work was supported by funding from the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, the University of Texas School of Public Health; the University of Texas School of Public Health Cancer Education and Career Development Program-National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health (grant no. 2 R25 CA57712); a US Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Innovative grant; and the Harris County Department of Education. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
