title: Exploring nutrition education resources and barriers, and nutrition knowledge in teachers in California.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine barriers to nutrition education, nutrition education resources used, and the relationship between nutrition knowledge and whether public school teachers in California teach nutrition in the classroom.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 102 teachers in California participated in a Web-based survey about nutrition education barriers, resources used to plan nutrition lessons, and factors that would encourage inclusion of nutrition. A validated questionnaire was used to assess nutrition knowledge. Analyses included ordinary least-squares regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Common barriers were lack of instructional time and unrelated subject. Teachers were unaware of many nutrition education resources. Nutrition knowledge was not associated with nutrition lessons but was positively associated with teaching high school (β = 5.13; P < .05) and female gender (β = 6.78; P < .05), and negatively associated with identifying as Hispanic or Latino (β = -15.50; P < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Barriers of time and lack of unrelated subject matter are difficult to address but lack of awareness of resources indicates that promotion of existing resources may encourage teachers to provide nutrition education. Larger studies are needed to determine whether this holds true in a broader sample.
authors.affiliation: Center for Nutrition in Schools, Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA.
authors.forename: Anna Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Center for Nutrition in Schools, Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA. Electronic address: sazidenbergcherr@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Sheri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zidenberg-Cherr
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002140:California; D005178:Faculty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005522:Food Services; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: nutrition education; nutrition knowledge; school nutrition; teachers