Practical School Nutrition Program May Reduce Food Neophobia

The study’s purpose was to evaluate an intervention to reduce fruit and vegetable food neophobia and influence attitudes and behaviors among children using a four-month, non-experimental, before-and-after intervention. Participants were children aged 5–11 years in an intervention school (IS) and a control school (CS). Children were offered fruit or vegetable samples weekly utilizing school-specific psychosocial and educational practices to encourage participation. The outcomes of interest included attitudes measured using a written survey-based food neophobia scale (FNS), behavioral observations, and an oral survey. The post-intervention IS FNS score was significantly lower compared to pre-intervention (p = 0.04). Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a statistically significant overall effect of time (p = 0.006). School type-time interaction was not significant (p = 0.57). Pre-intervention observational data showed the proportions finishing and taking another fruit and vegetable sample were higher in the CS (p < 0.001 for both). Post-intervention, the proportions taking the vegetable (p = 0.007) and the fruit (p < 0.001) were higher in the IS. The percentage tasting the vegetable was higher in the CS (p = 0.009). Offering samples of produce in school lunchrooms may reduce food neophobia. This intervention is an inexpensive program that volunteers can quickly implement.

Visual Exploratory Analysis of COVID-19 Pandemic: One Year After the Outbreak

Background Since the beginning of the year 2020, governments across the globe have taken different measures to handle the Covid-19 outbreak. Many different policies and restrictive measures were implemented to prevent transmission outspread, to reduce the impacts of the outbreak (i.e., individual, social, and economic), and to provide effective control measures. Although it has been more than one year already after the outbreak, very little studies have been done to examine the long-term effects and impact of the pandemic, and to examine the government intervention variables that are most effective and least effective. Such analysis is critical to determine the best practices in support of policy decisions. Methods Visual exploratory data analysis (V-EDA) is highly recommended to evaluate the impact of the pandemic since it offers a user's friendly data visualization model that allows one to observe visual patterns on trends. The V-EDA was conducted on one-year data for the COVID-19 Pandemic- one year after the outbreak between 1st January and 31 December 2020. The data were analyzed using the student's t-test to verify if there was a statistical difference between two independent groups and the Spearman test was used to analyze the correlation coefficient between two quantitative data, as well as their positive or negative inclination. Findings We found that high-testing countries had more cases per million than low-testing countries. However, for low-testing countries, there was a positive correlation between the testing level and the number of cases per million. This suggests that countries that had tested more, did it in a preventive manner while countries with fewer tests may have a higher number of cases than confirmed. In the poorest developing countries, the reduced new cases coincide with the reduction in conducted tests, which was not observed in the high-testing countries. Among the restrictive measures analyzed, a higher population aged 70 or more and lower GDP per capita was related to a higher case fatality ratio. Restrictive measures reduce the number of new cases after four weeks, indicating the minimum time required for the measures to have a positive effect. Finally, public event cancellation, international travel control, school closing, contact tracing, and facial coverings were the most important measures to reduce the virus spread. As a result, it was observed that countries with the lowest number of cases had a higher stringency index.

STEAM-Learning to Mars: Students’ Ideas of Space Research

Multidisciplinarity and the enrichment of science and mathematics education toward the so-called STEAM-approach where the A stands for art, has raised a lot of academic interest in the past decade. In this study, 5th and 6th graders from the greater Helsinki area (N = 390) participated in a several months long, Mars-colonization themed STEAM-learning intervention. Testing the students’ science knowledge using pre- and post-tests, their learning outcomes were compared to those of 5th and 6th graders from a control school (N = 119), who during the same period studied STEM-subjects in a more traditional manner. The main factors that were taken into account during the comparisons were gender and academic achievement level. Based on only whether there was any improvement between the pre- and post-test scores, girls were found to have benefitted from the Mars-module more than boys did. While also considering the magnitude of the said improvement, no significant difference in the effectiveness of the learning module was found between genders. The group of academically highest-achieving students improved their test scores the most after participating in the STEAM-learning module. This is an important, somewhat surprising finding, as often informal, outside of school learning has been found to benefit especially students with lower grade point averages.

Empathy is the mother of invention: Emotion and cognition for creativity in the classroom

According to the age-old proverb from Plato’s Republic: necessity is the mother of invention, the main motivation for creating new discoveries is the need for them. However, as well as the necessity factor, we argue that a very important aspect that influences invention and creativity is the empathy factor. This mixed methods research investigated the impact of empathy instruction on the social and emotional skills of creativity in the UK Design and Technology (D&T) classroom. Pupils in year 9 (aged 13 to 14 years) from two schools were assessed for their creativity levels using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) both at the start and at the end of the academic school year. In the intervening period, whereas the control school continued as normal with its usual D&T lessons, the intervention school’s D&T lessons were replaced by a creativity tuition kit called Designing Our Tomorrow (DOT), which involves instruction in empathising. Pupils from year 7 (aged 11 to 12 years) in a third school were given the DOT task alone and interviewed about their experiences of it. Results showed that unlike the control school, whose emotional and cognitive creative scores in fact decreased over time, the intervention school increased in its levels of emotional and cognitive creativity, as measured by the TTCT. These quantitative as well as the subsequent qualitative interview findings and pupils’ portfolios suggest that creativity can be taught and particularly via instruction that advocates the importance of empathising with the subject matter. The findings are discussed in relation to the need for a holistic approach to teaching, where social, emotional and cognitive dimensions of teaching and learning are needed to complete and enhance the learning experience for the D&T classroom and beyond.

Changes in the nutritional content of children's lunches after the Food Dudes healthy eating programme

Previous research into the effectiveness of healthy eating programmes has shown increases in healthful eating behaviour in primary schools; however, data collection methods have not been sufficiently sensitive to detect micronutrient changes. The present study extends the literature by measuring individual children's intake of macro- and micronutrients at lunchtime, before and after a programme targeting children's consumption of fruit and vegetables, to identify evidence-based health benefits of programme participation. Baseline data were collected over 4 d at lunchtime in two primary schools. The Food Dudes programme was then implemented in the intervention school. Follow-up data were collected over 4 d in each school 2 months after baseline. We employed a validated and sensitive photographic method to estimate individual children's (N 112) consumption of fruit, vegetables, and their intake of calories, macro- and selected micronutrients. Significant changes were observed in the intervention school but not in the control school: Children's consumption of fruit, vegetables, vitamin C and E intake increased, while their total energy consumption, fat, saturated fat, and sodium intake decreased. The present results show that the Food Dudes programme produced a positive nutritional change, with implications for its application as a healthy eating and obesity prevention intervention. These optimistic conclusions should be tested by further research to establish the longevity of the positive effects presented here.

Impact of a randomized school-based intervention program on blood pressure levels

Objectives: to evaluate the impact of a health program performed in a school setting on the blood pressure levels of schoolchildren in the public school system in Vitória/ES-Brazil. Methods: a randomized community trial was performed with 237 schoolchildren (6 to 12 years) from two public schools, randomly defined as the intervention and control school. Participants of the intervention group attended 11 education sessions over 4 months (July to October 2014). To test for differences between groups, the chi-square (categorical variables), and the paired t test or Wilcoxon (continuous variables) was used. The rate of variation of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) throughout the follow-up, according to allocation group, was evaluated using linear generalized models for time-repeated measures. Results: there was a reduction in the means of SBP (0.5 mmHg) and DBP (0.6 mmHg) in the intervention group and an increase in the control group, with a significant difference in the BP variation between groups over the follow-up period (p<0.05). Conclusion: a low-cost and easily implemented intervention may be one of the factors associated with the lowest blood pressure levels in the group studied, and reproduction in a school environment is feasible.

The Preliminary Effects of a Multi-Recess School Intervention: Using Accelerometers to Measure Physical Activity Patterns in Elementary Children

This pilot study used accelerometers to investigate the effectiveness of a multiple recess school intervention on physical activity patterns in younger elementary children using a post-test only with nonequivalent groups design. First and second grade students (N = 157) participating in a larger study, the LiiNK Project® (Let’s inspire innovation ‘N Kids), wore accelerometers for the duration of the school day for two weeks to measure physical activity intensity and number of steps taken daily. Students attended either an intervention school (N = 90), participating in four 15-min unstructured, outdoor recesses and one 15-min character development lesson daily, or a control school (N = 67), participating in two 15-min unstructured, outdoor recesses daily and no character development program. The intervention students, grades 1 and 2, took more steps (p < 0.001) and time spent in moderate (p < 0.001) and vigorous (p < 0.001) physical activity (MVPA) than the control school students. Intervention students averaged approximately 900 more steps per day than the control school students. These results show young children given 60 min of recess daily continue to increase physical activity patterns over those with 30 min of recess daily. Next steps are to evaluate if children demonstrate healthier body fat levels as a result of these higher patterns of MVPA daily.

Levels of PM10 and PM2.5 and Respiratory Health Impacts on School-Going Children in Kenya

Background. The respiratory system of children is vulnerable to exposure to particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of less than 2.5 and 10 μm (PM2.5 and PM10) or even lower. Objective. This study assessed PM10 and PM2.5 levels and respiratory health impacts on children in schools located in an industrialized suburb in Kenya. Method. The PM10 and PM2.5 levels were sampled from five public primary schools in Athi River Township and a control school during the wet and dry seasons. Outdoor and classroom samples were collected concurrently on an 8-hour mean during school hours on two consecutive days in each school and analyzed using gravimetric techniques. Five hundred and seventy-eight (n = 578) pupils aged 9–14 years from these schools were also evaluated for symptoms of respiratory illnesses and lung function using a questionnaire and spirometric method, respectively, during the same periods. Results. Indoor median PM10 levels (μg/m3) ranged from 60.8–269.1 and 52.8–232.3 and PM2.5 values (μg/m3) of 17.7–52.4 and 28.5–75.5 during the dry and wet seasons, respectively. The control classrooms had significantly (p &lt;0.05) lower median PM10 levels (μg/m3) of 5.2 and 4.2, and PM2.5 levels (μg/m3) of 3.5 and 3.0 during the respective seasons. Nearly all the classrooms in Athi River schools had PM2.5 and PM10 median levels that exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended levels. The indoor-to-outdoor ratios varied from 0.35–1.40 and 0.80–2.40 for PM10 and 0.30–0.80 and 0.80–1.40 for PM2.5 during the dry and wet seasons, respectively, suggesting higher levels in the classrooms during the wet season. The relative risk (RR) and odds ratio (OR) presented higher prevalence of respiratory diseases following PM exposure in all the Athi River schools than the control during the dry and wet seasons. At 95% CI, the RR and OR showed strong associations between high PM10 and PM2.5 levels and lung function deficits and vice versa. The association was more prevalent during the wet season. Conclusions. The study calls for effective indoor air management programs in school environments to reduce PM exposure and respiratory health impacts. Participant Consent. Obtained. Ethics Approval. The research permit and approvals were obtained from the University of Nairobi/Kenyatta National Hospital Ethics and Research Committee (KNH-UoN ERC Reference: P599/08/2016) and the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (Reference: NACOSTI/P/18/4268/25724). Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests.