1. Introduction
obesity, chronic disease
OBESITY, CHILDHOOD OBESITY, CHRONIC DISEASE
The early introduction of effective nutritional educational programs is pivotal for instilling sustainable healthy behaviors. The present work aims to present a best practice example of a nutrition and overall lifestyle school-based training program, the Nutritional Adventures (“Diatrofoperipeteies”). Conducted during 2020–2022 in Greek primary schools, this synchronous, online educational initiative included two 1-school-hour activities with a nutrition instructor. Additionally, schools were randomly assigned to supplementary “at-home” supported-by-parents or “in-class” supported-by-educators educational activities. In total, A considerable transition from traditional healthy eating habits, such as the Mediterranean diet, to Western diets worldwide characterizes modern-day living. In Greece, this shift is evident, particularly with younger children, with approximately half of the students being poor adherers to the Mediterranean diet, while only one in twenty children has optimal adherence [The Mediterranean diet is a dietary pattern that is renowned for its benefits in lowering the risk of chronic disease and overall mortality, as well as at reducing obesity rates in both adults and children [Alarmingly, there have been consistent increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in early life stages, with nearly one in three school-aged children living with impaired weight status. On top of this, very recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative underscored that not a single Member State of the Region is on track to reach the target of halting the rise in obesity by 2025 [The “Nutritional Adventures” program (“Diatrifoperipeteies”) is a synchronous, online educational program generated during the COVID-19 pandemic to promote healthy nutrition and lifestyle in students in primary schools across Greece, with no geographic restrictions. The primary objective of the present work was to evaluate the effectiveness of the “Nutritional Adventures” program in encouraging students to adapt to healthier dietary habits. Secondary research hypotheses were also investigated, in particular (a) if the suggested program may contribute to improving students’ overall health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and (b) if the program’s effectiveness is affected by the different training methods and means used.