| Popis: |
The new national standards for school meals in elementary schools was released in 2013 by Ministry of Health, but so far till today it has been loosely implemented, due to opposition to the healthier meals among students, parents and school stuff. Aim of the study was to investigate parents’ perception of school meals. Data were obtained from seven elementary schools from Zagreb. Method was anonymous voluntary questionnaire for parents whose children were 5th and 6th grade. 565 parents (81% F, mean age 40.7 ± 5.68) participated in the study, response rate was 69%. Results: Most students (73.6%) eat school meals. Almost half of the parents (45.5%) perceive school food to be unhealthy and many parents (54%) think that meals are too small. 41.7% of parents think that there is not enough fruit and not enough vegetables (56.2%) in school menus, and that there is too much bread (58.6%), and too much fast food (35.9%). Majority of parents (75.5%) agrees that school meals affect child’s behaviour and attention during classes. Half of the parents (49.2%) agree that school meals do not meet guidelines for healthy meals and it needs a lot of change (69.2%). Conclusion: with increasing number of overweight and obesity among children, we need to be protective of children’s’ health and laud in educating and partnering with parents and school stuff in implementing new standards so children can develop healthy eating habits. |
