Degree of Adherence to Existing Dietary and Lifestyle Guidelines among Secondary and High Schoolchildren

Abstract

Background: Poor dietary patterns pose a significant health challenge for children, hindering their ideal growth and development. Objective: We explored the adherence of secondary and high schoolchildren to healthy dietary guidelines in the Kurdistan Region. Subjects and Methods: We included a random sample of 554 students (13–18 years) from the available high schools in Duhok City in 2022. Results: Generally, students had a low level of healthy diet, which was not significantly influenced by sociodemographic and diet-related characteristics. A notable number of students skipped breakfast (32.31%). A majority of students consumed fruits 1–6 times/day (40.97%), whereas their vegetable intake was predominantly 50 whole grains. Conclusions: Schoolchildren have a low adherence to healthy dietary guidelines in Kurdistan Region.

Keywords

• dairy
• fast foods
• fish and seafood
• fruit
• grains
• sweets