Abstract

Objective: to evaluate a healthy food program for teachers and their educational transfer through an action plan for 3' to 5": primary students, to improve their food habits and culinary skills. Methodology: a four months quasi experimentalprospective study was carried out, with qualitative measurements to teachers (n = 43) and pre- and post-intervention quantitative measurements for students (n = 3021 in three public schools compared with a control group in other three schools (i) = 2651 in La Reina county, Santiago, Chile. The teachers received on-line training and at the end of the program they designed an action plan to be implemented at the three intervened schools. Results: half of the students reported that they had dinner at night. A high percentage had breakfast and lunch twice a day. At the end of the study, the number of students who had lunch twice a day was reduced to a half. Also, the group significantly increased the water and fruits consumption, instead of snacks. In culinary skills, they learned how to prepare healthy sandwiches. As a result, the level of obesity in both groups decreased significantly. The teachers increased water consumption, limited the number of meals to three per day, and decreased the fast food eating. Conclusion: the healthy food training improved the food habits of teachers and students. The support of the headmaster and the staff of the school is required to organize activities to promote healthy food.