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Assessment of Social Transmission of Food Preferences Behaviors
Published on: January 25, 2018
[Food habits and knowledge among Frederiksberg schoolchildren]
1Embedslaegeinstitutionen for Københavns Amt og Frederiksberg.
Ugeskrift for Laeger
|November 19, 1990
Summary
School pupils demonstrate healthy eating habits, preferring skim milk and consuming fruits and vegetables daily. However, their dietary knowledge doesn't correlate with their food choices, suggesting simpler dietary advice is needed.
Area of Science:
- Nutrition Science
- Pediatric Health
- Public Health
Background:
- Understanding children's dietary habits is crucial for public health initiatives.
- Assessing the relationship between dietary knowledge and actual consumption in school-aged children is important.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the dietary habits and knowledge of elementary school pupils.
- To determine if there is a correlation between dietary knowledge and actual/ideal dietary practices.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire was administered to 674 sixth and eighth-grade pupils across nine elementary schools.
- Data collected included dietary preferences, consumption patterns, and knowledge of food content (fat, sugar, fiber).
Main Results:
- Over 70% preferred skim milk; 75% consumed brown bread, fruits, and vegetables daily.
- Pupils demonstrated awareness by avoiding 'unhealthy' foods (e.g., fat meat) and choosing 'healthy' ones (e.g., fruits, vegetables).
- No significant correlation was found between pupils' dietary knowledge and their actual or perceived ideal diets.
Conclusions:
- While pupils exhibit generally healthy dietary habits, their knowledge does not directly influence these choices.
- Dietary advice should be more specific (e.g., 'eat more vegetables') rather than general (e.g., 'eat more dietary fiber') for better comprehension and adherence.
- School pupils are increasingly aware of diet's impact on health.
