A family influence on the eating behavior of modern Ukrainian adolescents

Abstract

Objective — to determine a family’s influence on the formation of eating behavior of adolescents in a large industrial city in health promoting school.Materials and methods. Anonymous survey have been conducted of 1505 students of eleven general secondary education institutions with a health promoting school for students in Dnipro in February‑March 2019. The study involved 422 6th graders (197 boys and 213 girls), 482 7th graders (271 boys and 333 girls) and 784 9th graders (243 boys and 216 girls).Results. The study analyzed the frequency of consumption of certain foods, which in our opinion provide information about the diet of this age group. Frequency of daily consumption of sweets 28 %, cakes 18 %, meat 50 %, sausages 30 %, fish 10 %, milk 43 %, fresh vegetables 62 % and fruits 55 %, and, of course, products that can be potentially harmful for use by teenagers: crisps or crackers 7 %, hot dogs 4 %, ketchup and sauces 12 %. It was also found that the single‑parent family was a risk factor for more intensive consumption by adolescents of «fast food» (F = 9.8; p = 0.02), food for taken out (F = 17.3; p < 0.001), crisps, crackers (F = 12.2; p = 0.001) and quick meals (F = 18.9; p < 0.001). Mononuclear families are only 19.4 — 24.0 % %. The presence of several children in the family influenced the parents’ greater attention to the family’s consumption of fresh vegetables (F = 7.5; p = 0.006) and fruits (F = 7.3; p = 0.007). The three‑generation family paid more attention to regular consumption of meat (F = 4.1; p = 0.04) and fermented milk products (F = 4.0; p = 0.04).Conclusions. The family, which provides for the livelihood of adolescents, has played the most active role in the formation and promotion of eating behavior. The structure of food preferences of primary school students remains quite stable from the sixth to the ninth grade and differs significantly depending on the sex and composition of the family, which indicates the dependence of eating behavior of adolescents from the family. Even when parents want to create a health‑friendly educational environment, only up to 70 % of students receive fresh vegetables and fruits every day and a limited amount of complete protein (no more than 20 % fish and 60 % meat). In our opinion, medical and preventive care programs should be aimed on parents, taking into account their socio‑economic aspects and education.