Changes in Eating Behaviours among Czech Children and Adolescents from 2002 to 2014 (HBSC Study)

Many children skip breakfast, consume soft drinks/sweets and do not eat the recommended amounts of fruit and vegetables. Poor eating habits in children tend to be carried over into adulthood. The changes in eating behaviours of Czech 11-, 13- and 15-year-old children were examined by frequency of breakfast (on weekdays and weekends), fruit, vegetable, sweet and soft drink consumption using data obtained from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) surveys in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. Logistic regression was used to analyze changes in eating behaviours. The findings showed a significant increase (only in girls, p ≤ 0.001) in prevalence of breakfast consumption (on weekdays) and a decrease in daily consumption of soft drinks (in boys and girls, p ≤ 0.001), sweets (in boys and girls, p ≤ 0.01) and fruit (in boys, p ≤ 0.01; in girls, p ≤ 0.001) between 2002 and 2014. Daily vegetable and breakfast on weekends consumption remained statistically unchanged over time. More frequent daily fruit, vegetable and breakfast (on weekends) consumption was reported by girls and younger children, whereas daily soft drink intake was more prevalent in boys and older children. There is a need for re-evaluation of current policies and new initiatives to improve the eating habits of Czech children.