TO THE QUESTION OF ORGANISATION SCHOOL FEEDING

Abstract

Along with physical activity and psycho-emotional status, nutrition is one of the most important indicators of the quality of life, which affect the human body from the moment of birth to the last moments of life. The problem of inadequate nutrition and alimentary-dependent diseases is especially acute in school age. According to official statistical data diseases of the digestive system occupy a leading place among schoolchildren in all age categories. Aim. Assessment of the prevalence of digestive diseases among schoolchildren, determination of the features of catering in educational institutions, study of the nutritional behavior of modern schoolchildren. Materials and methods. Determining the structure of pathological lesions of schoolchildren according to the "Center for Medical Statistics of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine". Questioning of 588 parents of elementary school students of two schools in Kharkov on the nutritional behavior of children. Results and discussion. According to official statistics in 2017 digestive diseases occupy the second ranking place among schoolchildren (7.9% among children 7-14 years old, 8.3% among teenagers 15-18 years old) and have tend to increase among teenagers in the dynamics of 5 years. One of the most likely important reasons for the deterioration of children's health is a violation of the nutritional structure and a decrease in its quality. So, (3.6 ± 0.8) % of primary schoolchildren eat only twice a day. Most children eat fish only once a week and 4.5% of schoolchildren have not eaten fish in the last 30 days. Only 43.4% of schoolchildren consume milk and dairy products daily. Assessment of the actual state of school feeding showed the inconsistency in the work of the medical service and teachers in the basic issues of its organization, quality control, distribution of duties and responsibilities. Conclusions. There are high incidence rates for certain classes of diseases аmong school-age children, in particular the digestive system. A negative sign of schoolchildren’s eating behavior is the deficiency of basic nutrients in their daily diet in accordance with physiological needs. The modern state of catering in educational institutions necessitates the implementation of system monitoring of its quality, usefulness, safety, and the physiological needs of direct consumers.

Keywords

• children's health, rational nutrition, eating behavior, legislative framework.