Article Sidebar

Submitted
January 2, 2024
Accepted
June 3, 2025
Published
June 30, 2025
Download
Download PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 84

Main Article Content

Abstract

Background: Public school teachers play a critical role in the success of education systems, particularly in developing countries. Despite their importance, the health and well-being of these educators are often neglected. This study sought to evaluate elementary school teachers' nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and health practices in a developing country.


Method: A survey research design was employed to gather data from elementary school teachers. The survey assessed their nutrition knowledge, attitudes toward nutrition, and related health practices.


Results: The findings indicated a high level of agreement among the participants regarding their nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and health practices. Correlation analysis revealed statistically significant relationships among these three variables. Furthermore, socioeconomic characteristics were significantly associated with teachers’ nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and health behaviors.


Conclusion: Enhancing nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and health practices of public-school teachers is vital for improving their overall well-being and, by extension, the quality of education. Continued research and sustained intervention are necessary to promote a holistic approach to teacher health, contributing to the broader advancement of education in developing countries.

Keywords

Attitude health practices knowledge nutrition public school teachers

Article Details

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Rica Joy M. Ortega, Ruth A. Ortega-Dela Cruz

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Rica Joy M. Ortega, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

Rica Joy M. Ortega studied Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics at Laguna State Polytechnic University–Los Baños.

Ruth A. Ortega-Dela Cruz, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines

Dr. Ruth A. Ortega-Dela Cruz is an Associate Professor at the College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños. She has led numerous studies in education and social sciences, earning International Publication Awards for her work published in indexed journals. In addition to her research, Dr. Ortega-Dela Cruz actively contributes to extension services and serves as a trainer, reviewer, and editor for both local and international academic journals.

How to Cite
Ortega, R. J. M., & Ortega-Dela Cruz, R. A. (2025). Nutrition Knowledge, Attitude, and Health Practices Among Public School Teachers in the Philippines. Pan-African Journal of Health and Environmental Science, 4(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.56893/ajhes2025v04i01.01
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX

References

  1. Aballay, L. R., Eynard, A. R., Díaz, M. D. P., Navarro, A., & Muñoz, S. E. (2013). Overweight and obesity: A review of their relationship to metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and cancer in South America. Nutrition Reviews, 71(3), 168-179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2012.00533.x
  2. Aljefree, N. M., Almoraie, N. M., Althaiban, M. A., Hanbazaza, M. A., Wazzan, H. A., & Shatwan, I. M. (2023). Gender differences in knowledge, attitudes, and practices with respect to type 1 diabetes among Saudi public-school teachers. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15043-w
  3. Almanasreh, E., Moles, R., & Chen, T. F. (2019). Evaluation of methods used for estimating content validity. Research in social and administrative pharmacy, 15(2), 214-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2018.03.066
  4. Al-Yateem, N., & Rossiter, R. (2017). Nutritional knowledge and habits of adolescents aged 9 to 13 years in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional study. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 23(8), 551-558. https://doi.org/10.26719/2017.23.8.551
  5. Bano, R., AlShammari, E., Fatima, S. B., & Al-Shammari, N. A. (2013). A comparative study of knowledge, attitude, practice of nutrition and non-nutrition student towards a balanced diet in Hail University. Journal of Nursing and Health Science, 2(3), 29-36. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/download/97699233/E0232936.pdf
  6. Barbosa, L. B., Vasconcelos, S. M. L., Correia, L. O. D. S., & Ferreira, R. C. (2016). Nutrition knowledge assessment studies in adults: A systematic review. Ciencia & saude coletiva, 21, 449-462. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232015212.20182014
  7. Cruz, R. O. D. (2020). Pedagogical practice preferences among generational groups of learners: Towards effective twenty-first-century higher education. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 17(5), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.53761/1.17.5.6
  8. Habib, M. A., Alam, M. R., Rahman, T., Chowdhury, A. I., & Shill, L. C. (2023). Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of nutrition among schoolteachers in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study. Plos one, 18(3), e0283530. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283530
  9. Husain, W., Ashkanani, F., & Al Dwairji, M. A. (2021). Nutrition knowledge among college of basic education students in Kuwait: A cross-sectional study. Journal of nutrition and metabolism, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5560714
  10. Elhassan, M. R., Gamal, H. E., & Mohammed, G. S. (2013). Nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practices among students of Ahfad University for women. Indian Journal of Scientific Research, 25-35.
  11. Gatley, A., Caraher, M., & Lang, T. (2014). A qualitative, cross-cultural examination of attitudes and behaviour in relation to cooking habits in France and Britain. Appetite, 75, 71-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2013.12.014
  12. Gatley, A. (2016), "The significance of culinary cultures to diet", British Food Journal, Vol. 118 No. 1, pp. 40-59. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-06-2015-0228
  13. Kumanyika, S. K. (2019). A framework for increasing equity impact in obesity prevention. American Journal of Public Health, 109(10), 1350-1357. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305221
  14. Liu, H., Xu, X., Liu, D., Rao, Y., Reis, C., Sharma, M., Yuan, J., Chen, Y., & Zhao, Y. (2018). Nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among kindergarten teachers in Chongqing, China: A Cross-Sectional Survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(4), 615. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040615
  15. Nardi, P. M. (2018). Doing survey research: A guide to quantitative methods. Routledge.
  16. Ortega-Dela Cruz, R. (2020). Perceptions of higher agricultural education toward sustainable agricultural development. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 10(1), 187-202. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-06-2019-0080
  17. Peterson, G. W., & Rose, H. A. (2003). Nuclear families, childhood. In Primary Prevention and Health Promotion (pp. 705-713). Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0195-4_104
  18. Poobalan, A. S., Aucott, L. S., Clarke, A., & Smith, W. C. S. (2014). Diet behaviour among young people in transition to adulthood (18–25-year-olds): A mixed-method study. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine: an Open Access Journal, 2(1), 909-928. https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2014.931232
  19. Ren, Y., Li, H., & Wang, X. (2019). Family income and nutrition-related health: Evidence from food consumption in China. Social Science & Medicine, 232, 58-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.04.016
  20. Sukandar, D., Khomsan, A., Anwar, F., Riyadi, H., & Mudjajanto, E. S. (2015). Nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practice of mothers and children’s nutritional status improved after a five-month nutrition education intervention. Int J Sci Basic Appl Res, 23(2), 424-42. http://gssrr.org/index.php?journal=JournalOfBasicAndApplied
  21. Saeidlou, S. N., Babaei, F., & Ayremlou, P. (2016). Nutritional knowledge, attitude and practice of northwest households in Iran: is knowledge likely to become practice? Maedica, 11(4), 286. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5543519/
  22. Scagliusi, F. B., Polacow, V. O., Cordás, T. A., Coelho, D., Alvarenga, M., Philippi, S. T., & Lancha Júnior, A. H. (2006). Tradução, adaptação e avaliação psicométrica da escala de conhecimento nutricional do National Health Interview Survey Cancer Epidemiology. Revista de Nutrição, 19, 425-436. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-52732006000400002
  23. Schober, P., Boer, C., & Schwarte, L. A. (2018). Correlation Coefficients: Appropriate Use and Interpretation. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 126(5), 1763–1768. https://doi.org/10.1213/ane.0000000000002864
  24. Tricas-Vidal, H. J., Vidal-Peracho, M. C., Lucha-López, M. O., Hidalgo-García, C., Lucha-López, A. C., Monti-Ballano, S., Corral-de Toro, J., Márquez-Gonzalvo, S., & Tricás-Moreno, J. M. (2022). Nutrition-related content on Instagram in the United States of America: An analytical cross-sectional study. Foods, 11(2), 239. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11020239
  25. Üstün, N. A. (2020). Social physical anxiety and nutritional attitude in athlete and non-athlete university students. Progress in Nutrition, 22(2), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.23751/pn.v22i2-S.10471
  26. Yarcheski, A., Mahon, N. E., Yarcheski, T. J., & Cannella, B. L. (2004). A meta‐analysis of predictors of positive health practices. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 36(2), 102-108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1547-5069.2004.04021.x