Development and evaluation of an intervention to improve food and nutrition literacy among Iranian Kurdish primary school children: An application of intervention mapping approach.

Background: Food and nutrition literacy (FNLIT) is a relatively new term that is used to define the knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary to achieve a healthy diet. Improving food and nutritional literacy in children is a necessary solution to eliminate nutritional disorders in this age group. The purpose of this study was to design, implement and evaluate an intervention to improve food and nutrition literacy in children aged 10-12 years old based on an intervention mapping (IM) approach. Methods: This experimental study was performed in three phases. Through the first phase, an intervention was developed using the (IM) approach. In the second phase, the intervention was implemented for 6 months, and in the third phase, the intervention outcomes were evaluated and compared with the control group through a randomized controlled trial among 300 participants (each control and intervention group = 150). Results: Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the control and intervention groups in all subscales of FNLIT. After the intervention, there was a significant difference between the control and intervention groups in all subscales of FNLIT ( Conclusions: The school-based intervention developed and evaluated in this study provides a basis for future programs targeting the improvement of FNLIT in children, especially in poor and deprived areas such as Kurdistan province. Clinical trial registration: Iranian Clinical Trials Registry (IRCT) Code: 32094.