Nutritional knowledge and nutritional status among elementary school students in Simeulue

Abstract

Background: Nutritional problems among school-age children are related to growth, learning capacity, and later health risks. The original manuscript referred to nutrition literacy, although the reported instrument assessed only knowledge of balanced nutrition, foods and nutrient functions, healthy snacks, and breakfast. Objective: To examine the associations between four nutritional knowledge domains and nutritional status among elementary school students in Simeulue. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at SDN 7 Wel-Wel in 2021. All 33 fifth- and sixth-grade students were included through total sampling. Knowledge was assessed using a questionnaire, and nutritional status was determined from anthropometric measurements. The 3×3 contingency tables were reanalysed using the Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test because most expected cell counts were below five. Association strength was estimated using Cramér’s V. Results: The largest proportion of students had normal nutritional status (13; 39.4%), while 11 (33.3%) were undernourished and 9 (27.3%) had overnutrition. Knowledge of balanced nutrition, foods and nutrient functions, healthy snacks, and breakfast was associated with nutritional status (exact p=0.028, 0.006, 0.005, and 0.028, respectively). Cramér’s V ranged from 0.404 to 0.458. Conclusion: All four nutritional knowledge domains were associated with nutritional status in the studied school. The findings require cautious interpretation because of the small sample, cross-sectional design, incompletely documented instrument, and lack of control for confounding factors.