The consumption of vegetables and fruits by teenagers and their nutritional status

Abstract

Introduction Nutritional disorders in the population at developmental age constitute a significant social problem. Their occurrence is strongly influenced by incorrect dietary choices. The basis of the daily diet should be vegetables and fruits as products that provide many valuable and necessary components for the proper functioning of the body. Objectives The aim of the study is to assess the consumption of fruit and vegetables by young people in relation to nutritional intake. Material and methods The research was conducted in a group of 1,999 studentinf randomly selected general secondary schools. The research tool was the authors questionnaire. BMI was calculated based on growth charts for age and gender, based on measurements of the height and weight of the subjects. Results In the examined group of adolescents, body mass deficiencies were found in a total of 8.4% of respondents (10.5% girls, 4.3% boys). The percentage of eutrophic adolescents in the study group was 77.6%. Overweight and obesity were found in 14.0% of all respondents (11.3% girls, boys 18.1%). Respondents with normal body mass declared eating vegetables several times a day less often than other adolescents. Consumption of fruits several times a day was confirmed by 46.3% of the surveyed adolescents, more often girls (49.4%) than boys (40.4%). Conclusions 1) In the studied group of adolescents, dietary mistakes were fund, consisting mainly of too few meals during the day, which occurred more often among overweight and obese adolescents than in the Rother. 2) The consumption of fruits and vegetables in the studied group of adolescents was insufficient. 3) It is necessary to improve knowledge of the principles of healthy eating as one of the factors in the prevention of diseases of civilization.

Keywords

• adolescents
• undernutrition
• obesity
• overweight
• nutrition