Effectiveness of a Nutrition Education Program to Improve Children’s Chewing Habits
Table 3
Basic characteristics and dietary intake of 150 Japanese preschool children aged 5-6 years.
Group A ()
Group B ()
value
Sex
Boys
39
32
.958
Girls
42
37
Age
<6 years
50
43
.941
>6 years
31
26
Physical status and oral condition
Body height (cm)
Boys
111.5 ± 5.4
111.3 ± 3.9
.869
Girls
111.4 ± 5.6
110.7 ± 4.8
.526
Body weight (kg)
Boys
18.8 [12.9–33.8]
18.4 [15.2–27.8]
.986
Girls
18.6 [13.5–25.7]
18.4 [13.2–29.0]
.840
Obesity index (%)
Boys
−4.0 [−14.0–39.0]
−3.0 [−13.0–31.0]
.746
Girls
−4.0 [−28.0–21.0]
−3.0 [−17.0–41.0]
.619
Number of untreated teeth
Boys
.0 [0–12]
.0 [0–8]
.194
Girls
.0 [0–9]
.0 [0–10]
.554
Energy and nutrient intake
Energy (kcal)
1426 ± 217
1352 ± 257
.203
Protein (g)
46.7 ± 8.8
44.7 ± 10.3
.386
Fat (g)
44.6 ± 10.8
43.7 ± 13.1
.762
Carbohydrate (g)
205.8 ± 37.1
191.0 ± 32.4
.079
Calcium (mg)
421 ± 177
366 ± 133
.141
Iron (mg)
4.7 ± 1.5
4.6 ± 1.2
.750
-carotene (μg)
1973 ± 1186
2060 ± 1549
.804
Vitamin B1 (mg)
0.65 ± 0.20
0.58 ± 0.16
.156
Vitamin B2 (mg)
0.85 ± 0.26
0.74 ± 0.24
.084
Vitamin C (mg)
63 ± 33
56 ± 266
.329
Folate (μg)
172 ± 67
159 ± 47
.307
Dietary fiber (g)
9.4 ± 3.7
8.7 ± 2.6
.336
Sodium (g)
6.8 ± 1.8
6.6 ± 2.0
.762
Body height: mean ± SD (standard deviation); body weight and obesity index; untreated teeth: median [range]. Energy and nutrient intake: mean ± SD (standard deviation score). Only β-carotene and Vitamin B1: values after logarithmic transformation were used for comparison between groups. The start of this intervention. Calculated according to the Murata method. Chi-square-test, -test (two-tailed), Mann-Whitney test (two-tailed), and nonpaired -test (two-tailed).
