Nutritional features of school children in the Siberian federal district

Introduction. The study of schoolchildren’s nutrition features in different regions of the Russian Federation is one of the important tasks to health promotion of children by developing regional practices for optimization the nutrition of schoolchildren. Objective. To study schoolchildren’s nutrition features in industrial cities of the Siberian federal district (Siberian FD). Materials and methods. Specialized questionnaire was developed in order to study the nutrition organization of schoolchildren in various regions of the Russian Federation. 323 parents (legal representatives) of children aged 7-18 years living in the biggest industrial cities of south-eastern Siberia (the cities of Angarsk and Irkutsk) took part in the survey, based on the questionnaire. The obtained data was compared to the result of studies conducted in the Central federal district (Central FD), that included 162 observations. The frequency method was used to analyze the food consumption. Results. The study established that consumption of milk, meat, cereals, potatoes, nuts, vegetables and fruits by children in the Siberian federal district was, all in all, significantly higher than in the Central federal district and in the Russian Federation in general. The nutrition of schoolchildren in the SFD is defined by a higher consumption of confectionery products, including chocolate, and such products as mayonnaise and margarine. It is noted that 75% of children in Angarsk and about 60% of children in Irkutsk regularly include chips and crackers in their diet and about 60% of children regularly consume fast food. At the same time, children living in Angarsk consume more food products with a high content of carbohydrates (cereals, potatoes, as well as added sugar in cookies, chocolates, sweet carbonated drinks), salt (in salted and dried fish), mayonnaise, and significantly less fermented dairy products and fresh fish compared to children in Irkutsk. Frozen products are more commonly consumed in the city of Angarsk than in Irkutsk. Physical development of children and its correlation with the variety of their diet was also assessed in the study. The assessment showed that children living in Angarsk have a significantly higher prevalence of obesity, which is a reflection of the irrational food diversity in their diets. Conclusions. The obtained data reflect the need of the introduction of educational programs on healthy nutrition among schoolchildren and their parents, taking into account the regional specifics of nutrition.