Background: Obesity prevalence has been rising worldwide and currently is one of the most serious public health problems. Nutrition literacy is important to the development of healthier habits that could help prevent and stem obesity and overweight. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of using a multimedia web platform to provide nutrition education to Portuguese adolescents.
Methods: The intervention consisted in a two-week period in which students (n = 1291) had access to an interactive multimedia web platform with nutritional content, and designed for a self-paced learning experience. Students completed a knowledge questionnaire at baseline and immediately after the end of the intervention.
Results: The results obtained revealed that 85.8% of the students increased their nutrition knowledge. No gender differences were observed post-intervention. There were significant differences in the knowledge acquisition regarding age (P < 0.001). The baseline knowledge seemed to influence the learning process.
Conclusions: Overall, the intervention had a positive impact. The preliminary results observed will be important for the improvement of the intervention, though they need to be confirmed by further research. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that technology-based assets can be important tools to incorporate and complement health-related interventions in schools.
© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.