Nutritional Education Is an Effective Tool in Improving Beverage Assortment in Nurseries in Poland.

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of education on improving the assortment of beverages served in nurseries in Poland. This analysis focused on beverages served to children with meals and between meals. We examined: water, tea, juices, soft/fruit drinks, compote, milk, cocoa, and coffee substitute. The study involved 93 nurseries enrolled in the Eating Healthy, Growing Healthy project and was conducted from 2015 to 2017. Nutritional education was carried out by dieticians or nutritionists and included 24 h of lectures given to the staff of nurseries. Training was conducted in a form of workshops that were divided into 12 topics. Additionally, consultations regarding infants and young children nutrition were available to the staff. Typically, education training was completed within 1-2 months in each nursery. The effectiveness of education was verified based on data on beverage supply in 186 ten-day menus, 1860 daily inventory reports before (at baseline), and 3-6 months after staff training (post baseline). Data were analyzed in a total group, and separately for public and non-public nurseries. Statistical analyses for categorical variables were done with Chi