Abstract:
Introduction: Nutrition education is the change process whereby beliefs, attitudes,
environmental influences, and understanding about food lead to nutrition practices that are
scientifically sound, practical, and consistent with individual needs and available resources
Design and Methods: The purpose of this study was to assess the nutrition knowledge of
educators in Makhuduthamaga municipality, Limpopo Province. Quantitative, descriptive,
and exploratory research was conducted to determine the factors that influence the nutrition
knowledge of educators and explore the relationship between factors and nutrition
knowledge. The simple random sampling technique was employed to select 200 educators in
grades 4, 5, and 6. Data collection was done using structured questionnaires. The data was
analysed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS), version 21.
Results and Discussion: Of the educators who participated in the study, 66.5% were female,
and 33.5% were males. Almost all (94%) of the educators were trained at a college and had
teaching experience of between 21-30 years. Most of the educators (60.5%) had a diploma,
while 0.5% had a master’s degree. Almost one third of educators indicated that children
should eat three (3) times during the day, and 32% identified the important meals as
breakfast, lunch, and supper. Most (36.5%) failed to give reasons why children should not
skip meals. In terms of basic food and nutrition, majority of the educators (75%, 67%, 56%,
and 55.5%) responded correctly on the importance of carbohydrates, fat, vegetables, and
fruits, respectively. Only a quarter (26%) knew the importance of protein, while 75.5% knew
that protein forms part of a balanced diet. Most of the educators knew the rich sources of
vitamin A and fibre but did not know the rich sources of iron, iodine, and vitamin C. There
was no significant difference between the level of education and nutrition knowledge (p=
0.129), and between training institution and nutrition knowledge (p= 0.534).
Conclusion: The need to train educators on nutrition was one of the main recommendations
that emanated from many research projects. Most educators mentioned that training and level
of education were of the factors that affected their nutrition knowledge. Nutrition knowledge
is becoming increasingly important in food choices and in this study educators acknowledged
that training affected their nutrition knowledge.
