Formation of healthy food skills at school children

Abstract

Healthy food habits acquired at early ages have positive effects throughout the life. The present work is a survey on food habits of schoolchildren in the 7th grade from Timişoara, on a sample of 1220 persons, of which 53.3% girls and 44.6% boys, the rest of 2.1% being non-answers. Out of these, 4.1% follow a low calorie diet, 3.3% follow a low fat diet and only 1.2% follow a diet rich in fibres; 0.2% already follow a diabetic diet and 0.2% a diet for lactose intolerance. The fact that the number of children eating food poor in calories and rich in fats is very small raises questions on the correctness of their nourishment. There are still schoolchildren suffering from diabetes or lactose intolerance. That is the reason why the present work aims at drawing the differences between the correct nourishing norms as recommended by the Ministry of Public Health and the bad habits of preteenagers in Timişoara, with a view to establish certain marketing strategies for the formation of healthy food skills as well as some information sessions for parents and children on the serious consequences of inadequate, unhealthy food.