This study aims to explore educators' understandings of the effects of hunger and malnutrition on learners' academic performance. The study reveals that there are various social conditions that contribute to poor learner performance at school such as poor family background, absenteeism due to hunger, diseases, pedagogic relationship and high levels of unemployment. It came to light from the study that, in spite of the attempts by the Department of Basic Education to eradicate hunger by, for example, providing child support grants and the Nutrition Programme, there are other challenges that hinder learners' progress. The study reveals that the majority of children are orphans and come from impoverished backgrounds. They come to school hungry without breakfast and without lunch-boxes. They do not have the educational materials that are needed by the educators. The study reveals that vulnerable learners, coming from impoverished backgrounds are victims of the situations as they face many problems that hinder their well-being, both at home and at school. The study also reveals that, if a child lives in poverty, that child might perform poorly at school. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The diploma thesis deals with the topic about the relationship of older school-age towards nutrition from the point of gender. The theoretical part defines the problems of gender in the reference to nutrition, it characterizes the period of older school-age and defines the particular factors that have an effect on the development of the nutritional behavior of pupils. The aim of the practical part is to discover whether there are any differences in the attitudes towards nutrition amongst boys and girls at the period of older school-age or whether there are any specific things at nutritional behaviour in the view of gender. For this purpose, I have chosen the interview survey that was concretely focused on the interest of chosen group of pupils about the problems of nourishment, their attitudes, foreknowledge and nourishing behaviour. The result of the survey shows that there are particular differences in nutritional behaviour among boys and girls. The interest about the topic of nutrition is bigger by the girls in the comparism of boys. The girls also try to keep on healthy food. On the contrary, there are very small differences between boys and girls at eating habits. According to the survey, it is possible to say that some gender stereotypes about the problems of nutrition are overcome. In the...

The bariatric surgery is regarded as the most effective treatment method of dangerous forms of obesity. Since the bariatric surgery is closely related to nutrition, it is thus necessary to emphasize the importance of good nutritional knowledge of patients that have undergone this type of surgery. The aim of this thesis was to examine the nutritional knowledge of patients that are at least one year after the surgery, or reoperation. To get relevant data, patients were examined using an anonymous questionnaire. The survey indicates that the patients have insufficient knowledge regarding the recommended protein intake. Furthermore, the examination exhibited, surprisingly, that men have statistically worse knowledge than women do as well as that the majority of patients does not know what the dumping syndrome is. The survey confirmed that the patients operated more than two and a half years ago have worse nutritional knowledge than the ones operated within such a period of time. Moreover, the examination did not identify problems regarding the correct food preparation, post- operational diet, and inappropriate eatables. In addition, it was discovered that about fifty percent of all the examined patients have sufficient knowledge of the post-bariatric surgery eating habits. Since the importance of...

In the current context of health in developing countries, malnutrition persists as a problem of great magnitude, especially in children under five due to the persistence of the chronic form and relation with high rates of infant morbidity. This nutritional grievance mainly affects people exposed to food and nutritional insecurity and to unfavorable environmental conditions, being characterized as a social disease responsible for high mortality rates. Because of the drama of the poor, developing countries like Brazil since the postwar period have been trying to control hunger and malnutrition through social policies that include welfare character measures, highlighting the distribution of food to reduce child malnutrition. Moreover, few attempts to evaluate programs which combat hunger and malnutrition in Brazil were done among the beneficiary population. For these reasons, this study investigated the effectiveness of nutritional education associated with the supplementary consumption of milk to promote chronically malnourished children growth. The study involved 208 children with nutritional risk and malnutrition, randomly distributed among three groups (G1, G2 and G3). Children belonging to G1 and G2 were fed with milk, but only those of the G1 were subjected to nutritional education. The G3 children were neither users of the program, nor subjected to education. The end of the study, it was observed a significant increase in height (p<0.05) in G1 and G2. Children at nutritional risk differed significantly from G1 to G2 and G3, which in turn, were statistically identical. From the analysis of the evolutionary chart, there was again a positive trend in nutritional recovery of G1, when comparing with the others. For the G3 there was no satisfactory outcome, their average heights remained almost unchanged. It was concluded that despite the precarious socio-economic conditions of the families, nutritional education associated with the distribution of milk, contributed to the increase of about 0.2 z scores for EI during the study. The intervention examined in the final time showed that it was especially effective to G1, highlighting the importance of the continuous nutritional education to preventing malnutrition. / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / No contexto atual de saúde dos países em desenvolvimento, a desnutrição ainda persiste como um problema de grande magnitude, principalmente nas crianças menores de cinco anos, em virtude da persistência da forma crônica e da relação com altas taxas de morbidade infantil. Este agravo nutricional atinge principalmente populações expostas à insegurança alimentar e nutricional e às condições ambientais desfavoráveis, sendo caracterizada como uma doença social responsável por elevado percentual de mortalidade. Em razão do drama da população carente, os países em desenvolvimento como o Brasil desde o período pós-guerra tem tentado controlar a fome e a desnutrição através de políticas sociais que incluem medidas de caráter assistencialista, destacando-se a distribuição de gêneros alimentícios para reduzir a desnutrição infantil. Ademais, poucas tentativas de avaliação de programas de combate a fome e a desnutrição no Brasil foram feitas junto à população beneficiária. Por estes motivos, o presente trabalho investigou a eficácia da educação nutricional associada ao consumo suplementar de leite na promoção do crescimento de crianças cronicamente desnutridas. O estudo envolveu 208 crianças portadoras de risco nutricional e desnutrição, aleatoriamente alocadas em três grupos (G1, G2 e G3). As crianças do G1 e do G2 receberam leite, mas apenas as do G1 foram submetidas à educação nutricional. As crianças do G3 não eram usuárias do Programa, nem foram submetidas à educação. No final da pesquisa, verificou-se aumento significativo de estatura (p<0,05) do G1 e do G2. As crianças em risco nutricional do G1 diferiram significativamente das do G2 e G3, que por sua vez, foram estatisticamente iguais. A partir da análise do gráfico evolutivo, verificou-se novamente uma tendência positiva de recuperação nutricional do G1, quando comparando com os demais. Para o G3, não houve evolução satisfatória, permanecendo suas médias estaturais praticamente inalteradas. Concluindo-se, portanto, que apesar das precárias condições sócio-econômicas das famílias, a educação nutricional, associada a distribuição do leite, contribuiu para o incremento de cerca de 0,2 escores z para EI ao longo do estudo. A intervenção analisada, no tempo final, mostrou-se especialmente eficaz para o G1, destacando a importância da educação nutricional continuada para a prevenção da desnutrição infantil.