Date of Award
12-31-1986
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Abstract
A unique advantage of being enrolled in the Dietetic Technology program at Malcom X College is that it provides the students with the knowledge of nutrition theory as part of their curriculum requirement for graduation. With this in mind, it was the hypothesis that these students will be practicing good nutritional habits for themselves besides being prepared for a career in this field. Because nutrition and health promotion have awakened a national consciousness at preventing illnesses, the Allied Health Department suggested that nutrition should be made part of the curriculum for all allied health students. However, the college administration, conscious of the budget that will take to approve an additional course for serval programs, wanted evidence to show that the inclusion of a nutrition course will result in improved nutritional status and practices among the students. Hence, this study was conducted to compare any differences in weights and nutritional intakes between the Dietetic Technology students and the other students of the Allied Health department. The study found that there was no differences in mean body weights between the two student groups but the nutrition students have higher intakes of nutritious foods from the Basic-4 food groups. The difference between the mean intakes of the two groups was significant at p.025, using the t-test of significance between two means. Results implied the benefits of nutrition knowledge in effecting changes in students’ nutritional intakes through application of theory learned.