Food preferences in schoolchildren

Abstract

Introduction. Understanding children’s eating behaviour is crucial for promoting healthy nutrition. Objective. To assess the food preferences in schoolchildren. Materials and methods. A mixed-mode survey was conducted in one hundred twelve 6 to 17 years schoolchildren, including 72 (70.5%) boys and 81 (72.3%) girl from Moscow. The average age was 12.23 ± 3.69 years (median = 13.0 years), with no significant age differences between genders (p = 0.855) or between Moscow and other regions (p = 0.690). The survey (α Cronbach = 0.891) included demographic and eating behaviour questions. Data were analyzed with SPSS using Spearman’s rank correlation, Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test, and χ2 test, given the non-normal distribution of variables (p ≤ 0.001). Results. Daily, 11 (9.8%) of the respondents eat vegetables, 14 (12.5%) eat fruits or berries, 18 (16.1%) have breakfast, and 87 (77.7%) consume sweets. Additionally, 62 (55.4%) often skip main meals due to sweets; 81 (72.3%) always have sweets at home; and 51 (45.5%) favour of fast food. Children in families where sweets are always available are more likely to skip main meals and breakfast, consume sweets, and prefer fast food, but eat vegetables, fruits, and healthy breakfasts less frequently (p ≤ 0.001). Daily sweet consumption is linked to lower fruit intake (p ≤ 0.001). Demographic characteristics did not impact food preferences (0.068 ≤ p ≤ 0.946). The highest index of correct eating habits, equal to 0.86, was in 2 (1.8%) children. There is no relationship between the number of correct eating habits and age (p = 0.379) and gender (p = 0.172). The criterion of “correct eating habits” is (p = 0.046) higher in Moscow schoolchildren than in children from the regions. Conclusion. Unhealthy food preferences in children reflect parents’ non-compliance with healthy eating recommendations, which underscores the need for family initiatives in the field of healthy nutrition.