¿Cómo mejorar el desayuno de los escolares de educación primaria?

Abstract

En este artículo presentamos un estudio llevado a cabo en tercer curso de primaria para intentar mejorar el desayuno de los escolares. Con este objetivo, realizamos un diagnóstico inicial sobre sus conocimientos y hábitos; a continuación, describimos las características de una intervención educativa, debidamente fundamentada, en la que destacamos la importancia de la colaboración de las familias. Los resultados muestran que si bien la mayoría de los estudiantes han aprendido las características de un desayuno saludable, la evolución de sus hábitos, siendo importante, no fue todo lo satisfactoria que hubiéramos deseado; circunstancia que pone de manifiesto las dificultades de introducir estos cambios. Finalmente, se proponen implicaciones educativas que pueden ser de utilidad para intentar mejorar la alimentación de los escolares.

In this paper we present a study aimed at improving breakfast eating habits among schoolchildren in their third year of primary education. We first describe the results of an initial diagnostic evaluation about the children’s knowledge and habits, and then present the main characteristics of a theoretically motivated educational intervention in which the collaboration of their families was of paramount importance. The results of this intervention show that, although most children learnt about the factors involved in healthy breakfast, the development of their habits was not as satisfactory as desired, which is taken to be a clear indication of the difficulties involved in the introduction of these changes. Finally, we discuss a number of educational implications which may be useful to promote the change of schoolchildren’s eating habits.

In this paper we present a study aimed at improving breakfast eating habits among schoolchildren in their third year of primary education. We first describe the results of an initial diagnostic evaluation about the children’s knowledge and habits, and then present the main characteristics of a theoretically motivated educational intervention in which the collaboration of their families was of paramount importance. The results of this intervention show that, although most children learnt about the factors involved in healthy breakfast, the development of their habits was not as satisfactory as desired, which is taken to be a clear indication of the difficulties involved in the introduction of these changes. Finally, we discuss a number of educational implications which may be useful to promote the change of schoolchildren’s eating habits.