Adaptation and reliability of 'Nutrition Screening Tool for Every Preschooler' (NutriSTEP) for use as a parent administered questionnaire in New Zealand

The impact of web-based education provided to parents on the nutritional risk of preschoolers: A quasi-experimental study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of web-based nutrition education for parents of preschool children in reducing nutritional risk. The study was conducted in a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. Parents of 3-5-year-old children from 11 preschools in Istanbul participated. They underwent a web-based nutrition education program. The NutriSTEP assessment tool was used to evaluate the nutritional risk score as a pretest assessment, followed by the training program. Posttests were conducted at 1- and 3-month intervals. Before the intervention, 55.8% of the children exhibited high nutritional risk. After the intervention, this percentage decreased significantly at the 1-month and 3-month follow-ups, with 94.2% and 93.6% of the children classified as low risk, respectively. The analysis also revealed significant associations between children's eating behaviours and factors such as maternal education, family income and family structure. As a result, web-based nutrition education was effective in reducing nutritional risk among preschool children. The findings underscore the importance of using technology for nutrition interventions, especially in diverse populations. The training program's simple, short and understandable video increased participants' interest in the training and encouraged regular follow-up.

Prevalence of nutrition risk and associated risk factors among New Zealand pre-school children

AIM

To determine the prevalence of nutrition risk using the validated, Nutrition Screening Tool for Every Pre-schooler (NutriSTEP) among pre-school children in New Zealand (NZ) and to identify socio-demographic factors associated with nutrition risk.

METHODS

Parents/caregivers of NZ pre-school children (aged 2-5 years) completed an online survey including NutriSTEP, both parent and child height and weight, as well as socio-demographic characteristics. The 17-item NutriSTEP responses were scored between 0 and 4; where item scores ≥2 indicate risk, and the maximum score is 68. Participants were stratified into low-risk (score ≤ 20) and moderate to high-risk (score > 20) groups. Strength of associations between nutrition risk and socio-demographic characteristics were explored using binary regression analysis.

RESULTS

Of 505 pre-school children, 96 (19%) were at moderate to high risk (median interquartile range NutriSTEP score 24 [22-26]) and 409 (81%) were at low risk (score 13 [10-16]). Pre-school children at highest risk were non-NZ European (P = 0.002), with solo parents (P = 0.002), from households with incomes ≤$50 000 (P ≤ 0.021) and with non-university educated parents (P ≤ 0.0001). More than 30% of pre-schoolers were at high risk for inadequate consumption of fruit, vegetables, grains, milk products, meat and meat alternatives, as well as exposure to screens during meals and overuse of supplements.

CONCLUSIONS

A fifth of NZ pre-school children were at moderate to high nutrition risk and may not have met the nutrition guidelines. Economic and ethnic disparities were apparent. Using NutriSTEP may assist to identify NZ pre-school children at highest nutrition risk who may benefit from appropriate nutrition support.

Turkish version of the Preschool Children's Nutrition Screening Tool (NutriSTEP®): a validity and reliability study

OBJECTIVE

In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the Turkish validity and reliability of the Preschool Children's Nutrition Screening Tool (NutriSTEP®), which is used to determine the nutritional status of children in the preschool period.

SUBJECT/METHODS

The sample of the study consists of 333 parents with children aged 3-5 years old living in Turkey, who voluntarily agreed to participate in the study and answered the Turkish NutriSTEP® form online. The forward and backward translation method was applied for the language validity of the Turkish form. Expert opinion was sought for content validity. Factor analyzes were applied to determine the construct validity of the Turkish form. Original NutriSTEP® and Iran NutriSTEP® were evaluated to assess cut-points. To evaluate the reliability of the Turkish version, the test-retest method was used.

RESULTS

As a result of expert opinion, the Content Validity Index was found to be 0.97. According to exploratory factor analysis, unlike the original NutriSTEP®, five sub-dimensions were obtained and the 13th question with a factor load of less than 0.30 was removed. According to the confirmatory factor analysis, it was shown that the scale was suitable for Turkish society. There were positive, high and statistically significant correlations between the NutriSTEP® scale test-retest scores (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

The Turkish NutriSTEP® questionnaire is both valid and reliable for the screening of nutrition risk in preschool children of the Turkish population.