[The nutritional behavior of school children. An epidemiologic interval study]

With regard to nutritional information and education school children are an important target group. Aspects of nutritional behaviour were explored in 500 11- to 13 year old school-children from different areas, and these examinations were repeated when the probands were 15 to 17 years old. There is a great interest in questions of nutritional as related to age and sex. Family, mass media, and school are the main factors involved in nutritional information and education. The knowledge on nutrition increases with increasing age. About 80% of the pupils have an average of 4 meals per day, with some variation due to age and sex. On week days most of the pupils have lunch at school. Meals together with the family are more frequent at the week-end than on weekdays. Meals are usually prepared by the parents. With regard to preferences or aversions to food image and prestige are important. Sweets and dainties usually come from the grand-parents. The own body weight is frequently considered as too high. A strategy for nutritional information and education is proposed.