"Nutrition is fast becoming a popular science among many age groups. Young people, especially athletes, are becoming more aware of the correlation between diet and health. Also, with such a great amount of emphasis placed on physical beauty, more people are interested in the study of nutrition for vanity purposes"--Introduction. / "August, 1978." / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Department of Home Economics Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: Jane Gatewood White, Major Professor. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-42).

Competitive swimming is a sport in which "the need to succeed" is stressed and the desire to reach the optimal level of performance--physically, emotionally, and nutritionally is strong. This research sought to investigate whether there were differences in nutrient intakes, percent body fat, and body image between male and female swimmers and their non-athletic counterparts at Muncie Central High School in Muncie, Indiana.The accessible population for this study included those male and female athletes and non-athletes, ages 14 to 18, who attended Muncie Central High School during the 1989-1990 school year.The data indicated that athletes did not differ from non-athletes while males and females did differ significantly in significant differences in height between athletes and non-athletes, primarily due to the differences in the height of female athletes as males appeared to be similar, but female athletes were one-half inch taller, on the average, than female non-athletes. There were no significant differences between the weights of male between athletes and non-athletes,male non-athletes were and female athletes and non-athletes; however, male athletes were 13 lbs. lighter, on the average, than their male counterparts. There was a significant interaction, in percent body fat, significantly fatter than male athletes. There was a tendency for males to have lower scores on the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) than females, suggesting that males were at lower risks for disorders than females.These data suggest that nutrition education programs should be planned to ensure good diets for all students, athletes, and non-athletes. / Department of Home Economics

Research suggests that participation in the School Breakfast Program positively impacts academic success by improving student behavior, cognitive functioning, and attendance. Additionally, the School Breakfast Program appears to improve food insecurity, overall health and weight-related issues. However, compared to the National School Lunch Program, participation in the School Breakfast Program has been historically low, especially at the high school level. Using an integrated composite framework, a combination of social cognitive theory and ecological systems theory, as the conceptual model, this qualitative case study explored factors influencing student breakfast eating and participation in the school's breakfast program within a college-preparatory high school serving culturally diverse, predominantly low-income students. I used an all-staff survey as a qualitative data collection tool, and semi-structured interviews with school staff, student focus groups, and a Draw-A-High-School-Student-Breakfast Test to collect qualitative data. Using thematic networks as an analysis tool, I examined the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of school staff and students about breakfast eating and participation in the school's breakfast program. The study found that communication about the School Breakfast Program, arriving to school in time to eat, and relationships with food service staff, influence participation in the School Breakfast Program. The findings are discussed in terms of their significance on practice and policy within both education and public health sectors. The study concludes with recommendations for future research.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Applied Science in Food and Nutrition, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / There is a lack of information and research on nutrition content in the curriculum for learners at the secondary school level. While nutrition content is addressed in the curriculum for Grades 8 and 9 in Natural Science, Social Science and Life Orientation, not all aspects of nutrition education are included. In Grades 10 to 12, nutrition content exists in Life Orientation, Agricultural Science, Agricultural Technology, Design Studies, Civil Technology, Electrical Technology, Mechanical Technology, Dance Studies, Information Technology, Consumer Studies and Hospitality Studies, however, not all learners are exposed to the learning areas that contain nutrition content. An important consequence of this lack of exposure to information on nutrition content is that learners who leave school after Grade 12 with inadequate nutrition knowledge potentially become adults who suffer from lifestyle diseases. This study focused on the nutrition content in the curriculum in Grades 8–12 in Kwa-Zulu-Natal in order to: evaluate the content in the curriculum referring to nutrition and to analyse the critical and developmental outcomes of nutrition education;. assess the nutrition knowledge of learners in Grades 8–12 in the Durban Central area (for the purpose of following a healthy lifestyle); determine the views of educators on the inclusion of nutrition content in the curriculum; highlight the importance of applying nutrition content in the curriculum to educate learners on disease prevention and good eating habits. The design of the study was evaluative, analytical and descriptive, and adopted both the quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The purposive sampling method was utilised for the selection of sample. The study was located in Central Durban and the sample comprised of boys and girls in Grades eight–12 at Durban High School and Ridge Park College, respectively. The sample included 343 boys and 360 girls who participated in the study. In order to establish the views of educators who teach nutrition knowledge in the curriculum, the study also included 134 educators purposively selected from 15 schools in the Umlazi District in KwaZulu-Natal. Two sets of instruments were used for data collection. The Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (NKQ)(previously developed) was used to determine the nutrition knowledge of learners in Grades eight–12 and across genders in both schools. An Educator Questionnaire (EQ) (developed for the study) on the learning areas that contained nutrition content was utilised to measure the extent to which the educators teaching those learning areas completed the curriculum content on nutrition. The Educator Questionnaire was used to ascertain the educators’ views on the importance of nutrition knowledge. The results of the research showed that the content dealing with nutrition in the school curriculum for Grades eight–12 was inadequate in certain learning areas to adequately educate learners on nutrition for the purpose of following a healthy lifestyle. The compulsory learning areas that contain aspects of nutrition knowledge were Life Orientation, Natural Science and Social Science for Grades eight and nine. In Grades10 to 12, Life Orientation is the only compulsory learning area that contains aspects of nutrition knowledge content. Nutrition knowledge investigation showed that learners are not adequately prepared in respect of all aspects of nutrition knowledge when they leave school at the end of Grade 12. The curriculum analysis of the learning areas in Grades 10 to 12 showed that the learning areas that contain nutrition knowledge are specialist learning areas not offered at all schools in the Durban Central area. The Educator Questionnaires showed that learning areas that include nutrition content in Grades 10 to 12 are not offered at all schools, thus probably negatively impacting on the learners’ level of nutrition content. The results of the Educator Questionnaire reinforced the notion that the curriculum for nutrition education was inadequate. The research concluded that the curriculum does not prepare learners adequately in respect of all areas of nutrition knowledge to enable them to follow healthy lifestyles. The results revealed that there is a correlation between the nutrition knowledge of learners and certain nutrition education aspects in the curriculum. Such results showed that the total mean scores for all the Food Based Dietary Guidelines ranged from 62.0% as the lowest, to the highest total mean score of 72.0%. However, the scores are low in critical areas of nutrition knowledge when individual scores are taken into consideration. An important consequence is that learners who leave school at the end of Grade 12 with inadequate nutritional knowledge become adults with the potential to suffer from lifestyle diseases. It is recommended that a compulsory learning area for all grades that deals exclusively with health, physical education and nutrition be introduced into the curriculum to assist learners to follow healthy lifestyles during and after school. / M

Life and Consumer Sciences / M.A. (Consumer Science)