Método intuitivo como metodologia inovadora para a prática em educação alimentar e nutricional

Abstract

The need for grounding in innovative methodologies in the teaching of food and nutrition education is increasingly identified. Knowing this, the objective of the study was: i) to characterize children and adolescents in situations of socioeconomic vulnerability participating in two social projects in the city of Lavras, MG, Brazil as skin color, housing conditions, personal safety, nutritional status and nutritional and food (in)security by the Brazilian Scale of Food Insecurity; ii) to evaluate the effectiveness of the Intuitive Method as an innovative methodology in teaching the nutrition education iii) to compare the effectiveness of the Intuitive Method with the expository methodology (lecture) iv) to compare the effectiveness of the interventions applied in the shorter term (3 months) and longer term (6 months); v) to evaluate the impact of interventions on the food consumption of schoolchildren.For this, the sample population (n = 246) was divided into two groups. Control group, which received interventions based on teaching methodology (lecture), and treatment group, which received actions based on the innovative method (Intuitive Method). The study was divided into three stages: initial evaluation, four main interventions based on the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population (FGBP) and final evaluation (reapplication of the instruments applied in the initial evaluation). Schoolchildren belonging to Institution A received only these main interventions for 3 months and those coming from Institution B received, in addition to these interventions, complementary activities for 6 months. Data were tabulated in EpiinfoTM software version 7.2.6. For the characterization of the participants the frequency analysis and the proportions were compared by the chi-square test in SPSS® software.The effect of the type of methodology applied in the response variables was analyzed by logistic regression models in software R, version 3.5.2.3. The study population was characterized as predominantly black (43.9%) and in food insecurity (69.9%). There were no differences in the pattern of responses regarding the place of residence among the subjects of the different skin color types. It was verified that the odds ratio of improvement in self-efficacy for the elaboration of income by a participant submitted to interventions based on the Intuitive Method was increased on average 3 times when compared to those submitted to the lecture. In the questions related to knowledge about food and nutrition, it was observed that students who underwent interventions with complementary activities had, on average, 3.5 times more chances to build greater knowledge when compared to those submitted to interventions of shorter duration. For food consumption, it was identified that those submitted to the Intuitive Method in a shorter period significantly reduced the consumption of ultraprocessed and processed and increased the consumption of minimally processed and natural foods.Therefore, the Intuitive Method can be used in nutrition education, since it presented superior results to the expository method both in the self-efficacy for cooking workshops and in the food consumption of the participants. It was also observed that longer-term nutrition education actions tend to be more effective, since they positively impacted both the knowledge about food and nutrition and the food consumption of the volunteers.