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Meal patterns and food use in 10- to 11-year-old Finnish children
Mila Haapalahti1, Hannu Mykkänen, Sami Tikkanen
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Oulu, PO Box 5000, FIN-90014, Finland. mila.haapalahti@uku.fi
Insights
Most Finnish children eat regular meals, but many consume sweets frequently and few eat vegetables. Higher socioeconomic status and family meals correlate with healthier food choices in 10-11 year olds.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Child Behavior Studies
- Public Health
Background:
- Understanding weekday eating habits of children is crucial for public health initiatives.
- Socioeconomic status and family environment significantly influence dietary patterns in children.
- Child behavior can be linked to meal patterns and food choices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe meal patterns and food consumption among 10- to 11-year-old Finnish children on weekdays.
- To analyze the relationship between these eating habits and family socioeconomic status (SES) and child behavior.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 404 children aged 10-11 years in Ylivieska, Finland.
- Utilized a food-frequency questionnaire for meal patterns and food use.
- Employed the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) completed by parents and children.
Main Results:
- Nearly all children consumed breakfast (99%) and school lunch (94%) daily; 80% had daily dinner at home.
- Low daily intake of vegetables (26%) and fruits/berries (21%) was observed; 46% ate school salad daily.
- Children from higher SES families consumed more vegetables and less high-fat dairy; those without regular family dinners had higher sweet/fast food consumption and CBCL scores.
Conclusions:
- Meal skipping is uncommon, but frequent sweets consumption and infrequent vegetable intake are prevalent among Finnish 10-11 year olds.
- Higher family socioeconomic status and regular family dinners are associated with healthier food choices.
- These findings highlight the importance of family environment and SES in shaping children's dietary habits.
Objective:
To describe the meal patterns and food use on weekdays among 10- to 11-year-old Finnish children and to analyse these in relation to family's socio-economic status and the child's behaviour.
Design:
Cross-sectional study on a cohort of 404 children aged 10-11 years in the rural town of Ylivieska, mid-western Finland.
Methods:
A food-frequency questionnaire including questions on meal patterns and food use and the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) completed by the parents and the child together.
Results:
Practically all children (99%) ate breakfast regularly, 94% had a daily school lunch and 80% had dinner at home daily. Vegetables were consumed daily at home by 26% and fruits or berries by 21%, while 46% of the children had salad daily at school. Twenty-four per cent ate sweets daily or nearly so on weekdays. The children from families of high socio-economic status ate vegetables more often, and fewer of them used butter or high-fat milk. The children with no regular family dinner ate sweets and fast foods more often, and had higher total CBCL problem scores than those with a regular family dinner.
Conclusion:
Skipping meals appears not to be common among Finnish children aged 10-11 years, but a considerable proportion consume sweets frequently and vegetables infrequently. High family socio-economic status and a tendency to eat together are associated with healthy food choices among schoolchildren.
