Analysis of actual nutrition of schoolchildren at different age periods

Abstract

Introduction. A healthy, balanced diet can provide the child with nutritional protection from adverse environmental factors and helps to prevent diseases. Lack of continuity in nutrition at school and at home creates a deficit in the diet supply of nutrients necessary for a growing body. The purpose of the investigation is to study the actual nutrition of a group of schoolchildren at different age periods (in the dynamics of 10 years). Materials and methods. Actual nutrition of a group of schoolchildren in the dynamics over 2009 and 2019. The sample consisted of one hundred fifty 7-years children and the same children aged 17 years (124 children). Actual nutrition was studied using menu-layouts (at school) and the method of 24-hour (daily) nutrition reproduction (at home). Results. With age, there is a more pronounced imbalance in the supply of basic nutrients in the diet, associated with excess consumption of fats (7–25%), lack of carbohydrates, deficiency of dietary fibers (15–20%), a number of minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron) and vitamins (C, B1, B2, A, PP). Average daily food rations are unbalanced. The structure of children’s food sets becomes more irrational with increasing age. Regardless of the period of the study, diets are deficient in the level of consumption of milk, fish, vegetables, and fruits, and excessive in the level of consumption of foods with high energy value. In dynamics, the percentage of children with the recommended level of consumption of poultry is decreasing by 4.3 times, fish – by 3.8 times, milk – by 3 times, fermented milk products – by 2.6 times, cottage cheese and sour cream – by 2 times, butter and vegetable – 15.4 and 6.8 times, respectively. Limitations. This study is limited to a sample of a group of schoolchildren studying from the 1st to the 11th grade (in the dynamics with a ten-year interval). Conclusion. Persistent long-term violations of the basics of a healthy balanced diet by children create a probable risk of developing diseases in children in the future caused by nutritional factors, and can also be predictors of the development of pathological conditions and diseases in adulthood.