Debunking Nutrition Misinformation: Our Dietetic Placement Experience at Best Food Forward

Abrielle and Molly during their placement at Best Food Forward

Hey all, we’re Abrielle and Molly, MSc Dietetic students from Sheffield Hallam University. We have spent the past seven weeks on our alternative setting placement at Best Food Forward, a food and nutrition education project based at The School of Artisan Food.

Throughout our placement, we created a pre-recorded assembly for Netherthorpe Secondary School as part of their ‘Healthy Eating’ week. The content of the assembly needed to fit the identified needs of our target group, while using evidence-based information and rationale to enhance our work.

We had the opportunity to meet with the students, conduct a focus group, and create a questionnaire distributed throughout a selection of form groups within the school. This allowed us to gather the necessary information to understand the students' needs better and ensure the project was tailored to these. The findings highlighted that a significant proportion of the students got their information about food and nutrition from social media. Although they knew not all they saw online was true, they lacked the skills to disseminate information from misinformation. Other highlighted topics are the misinformed focus on high-protein and low-calorie options being ‘healthier’. Such topics were the main focus of our resource. 

Our project aimed to improve students’ and teachers’ knowledge of misinformation about food and nutrition on social media. To do this, we used the evidence available around the highlighted topics of interest to debunk some potential misinformation they may encounter. We did this via a third-person character, Riley, to reduce the risk of students taking a personal point of view on the content. The assembly involved interactive sections, such as a myths and facts game and a video, to enhance the student’s engagement. The assembly directs the students to credible resources for nutrition information, and with the help of our character Riley, aims to empower the students with the skills for critical thinking towards misinformation on social media.

As expected, we encountered many hurdles while creating this resource, particularly regarding technology, such as losing audio files and having to re-record or laptops crashing halfway through. However, working collaboratively and maintaining a proactive mindset made it possible for us to complete our resources within the agreed-upon timeline, allowing for feedback from our dietetic supervisor, wider Best Food Forward Team, and the teachers at Netherthorpe School.

As part of our university portfolio, we were required to present our project rationale to our stakeholders. This was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the creation process, share our key learning points, and explain how the resource can be adapted for future use within the project and The School of Artisan Food.

Overall, the placement has given us great insight into the role of a Dietitian in a Public Health Setting. The Welbeck Farm Shop has also been appreciated! Best Food Forward welcomed us with open arms and allowed us to integrate into the team, which enabled the success of our project.

So, a big thank you to all the staff at The School of Artisan Food for their support and for facilitating an incredibly positive experience.

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If you would like to learn more about learning opportunities at The School of Artisan Food, please email us at info@schoolofartisanfood.org.