Hygienic Assessment of the Proper Nutrition for Secondary School Students ^†

Abstract

The health of the younger generation in modern socio-economic conditions is characterized by an increase in the prevalence of functional abnormalities and chronic diseases. Of the total number of factors that have a negative impact on the health of adolescents, the impact of schooling and violating the rules of nutrition are the top priority. The etiopathogenetic role of nutrition as a risk factor in modern conditions determines the nature of the development of alimentary-dependent pathologies in children and adolescents, which include anemia, iodine deficiency conditions, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, etc. Therefore, optimal nutrition in childhood and adolescence will contribute to the prevention of diseases, proper physical and neuropsychic development, and increase the adaptive capabilities of the body. The cross-sectional design of the study was used to collect data from adolescents aged 13 to 15 years. Improbability quota sampling was used for data collection. Data processing was carried out using SPSS version 25.0. Mean values and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variables, while categorical variables were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. The chi-square criterion was used to determine the relationships between categorical variables. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant in all analyses. The study covered 1254 adolescents aged 13–15, of which 46.3% were boys and 53.7% were girls. From the data presented, it was found that 37.3% of adolescents did not comply with the diet, and 62.5% kept to the diet. In total, 37.6% of first and second hot meals were consumed 2–3 times a day, and 35.2% were consumed only once a week. There was no statistically significant relationship between nutrition and obesity (p = 0.362) or between dietary diversity and nutritional status (p = 0.549). The results of this study on the proper nutrition for adolescents shows that secondary school students do not follow the proper diet and often eat fast food.