[Food habits and knowledge among Frederiksberg schoolchildren]

In 1989, 674 school pupils in the sixth and eight grades in nine elementary schools replied to a questionnaire with questions about dietary habits and knowledge. More than 70% of the pupils preferred skim-milk products to full milk. Half of the pupils always used butter or margarine on bread. The main reason for using some form of fat on the bread was that, without this, the bread would become too dry. Approximately 75% of the pupils ate brown bread, fresh fruit and vegetables daily. These same pupils had "healthy" dietary habits in many respects. 75% of the pupils avoided one or more types of food because they considered that these were not good for them. The item most frequently avoided was fat meat. 83% of the pupils included some foodstuffs in the diet because they considered that these were good for them. The items most frequently involved were fruit and vegetables. The sex and age differences between the actual diet and the ideal diet were insignificant. More than half of the pupils could state correctly whether 11 different foodstuffs contained much fat, sugar or dietary fiber. No connection was found between the pupils' dietary knowledge and their actual or ideal diets. It is thus probable that dietary advice which emphasizes foodstuffs e.g. eat more dietary fiber, is difficult for them to understand and live up to. More definite dietary information e.g. eat more vegetables, would probably have been easier for the pupils to understand and live up to. School pupils of today are very much aware of the significance of diet for their health.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)