��утрійційні практики як предиктор формування надлишкової ваги у школярів східних та західних регіонів україн

Background. Eating behaviour of children is a background of nutrition practices in later life and could be a fine risk factor for the development of chronic diseases in adults if impaired. Purpose. The purpose of the study was to investigate the routine nutritional practices of Ukrainian schoolage children from different places of residence. Material and methods. This study is a part of the research work of KhNMU «Develop evidence-based method of nutrition assessment, identify nutrition problems of school-age children in Ukraine and implement educational programs for the prevention of non-communicable diseases associated with nutritional problems». 1125 people took part in the survey, including 886 school-age children (72.0% residents of eastern and 28% residents of western regions, p 0.005). Children were divided into three age groups: high school students (15–17 years, n = 184), middle school students (10–14 years, n = 416) and primary school students (6–9 years, n = 286). Results. It has been found that the number of Ukrainian children and adults who have regular breakfast is lower than those having regular lunch and dinner. Adults from the western regions are tend to skip breakfast, while residents from the east tend to skip dinner. 65% of children spend their pocket money on sweets during the day, and the number of such children increases with age — from roughly 45% in primary school to almost 70% in high school students. Interestingly, that just around quarter of respondents purchase lunche in canteen, whereas others are taking sandwiches, backery or seasonal fruits. Conclusions. Nutritional practices of school-age children could be fine populational obesogenic predictors. Educational programs for school-age children and their parents should be started in the primary school and be focused on encouraging regular breakfasts and the adequate organization of snacks. Our data can be used in the creation of national and regional social education programs.