The structure of the nourishment of preschoolers during the weekend (short report)
AbstractTo study the feeding of 190 children aged 3–7 years attending 4 preschool educational institutions in the city Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo region, at home on weekends questionnaires were conducted by the parents. Studies have shown that multiple meals in 57% of children was 5 times a day, 43% of children – 4 times a day, including snacks; 97% of children have at breakfast main dish, drinks and sandwiches and only 3% of children have breakfast that did not meet standards for structure and was insufficient and inadequate to cover subsistence expenses of energy, because consisted of a sandwich and a drink. Only 7% of preschooler’s lunch met recommendations on its structure and included the first, main dish, salad and drink, lunch of 93% of children included only one hot dish (first course, or the second). Dinner in volume, compared with the recommended standards, was redundant on average 57% of preschoolers since consisted of sandwiches, salad, meat dish and side, drink. Children’s snacking during the day included the following suite of products: sandwiches (with sausage, cheese, butter), tea with sweets (candies, chocolate), fermented milk drink, fruits.
When examining the frequency of meals during the day on weekends, there is a tendency to use the same dishes (what children ate for lunch, they eat at dinner on the same day, and then for breakfast on Sunday). The study of the structure of meals in pre-school children at home during the days of the week (evening meal) found that in most cases (67,8%) their dinner was irrational, the structure was identical to the structure of the adults of the family (fried dishes: fried pies, fried potatoes, sodas). Irrationally organized meals for children at the weekend showed inadequate knowledge of parents on the healthy diet for their child at home.
Keywords:children, food, feeding behavior