Comparison of nutritional habits of children attending half-day and
full-day school
Abstract
Aims: The aim of this study is to compare the nutritional habits of
children attending half-day and full-day school and to investigate the
effect of time spent at school on their nutrition. Methods: A survey was
conducted between January 2020 and April 2020 for students between the
ages of 6 and 18 years who attended school and agreed to participate in
the study. Written consent was obtained from parents. The data were
analyzed using IBM SPSS V16.0. Results: A total of 772 people were
included in the study; of these, 385 students attended half-day school
and 387 students attended full-day school. Daily meal frequencies of the
students varied based on their schooling time, which was statistically
significant (p = 0.011). Out of all the students who attended full-time
school, 15.2% stated that they ate four or more meals per day, while
7.8% of those who attended half-day school stated that they ate four or
more meals per day. When their dieting status was examined, 3.9% of
those who attended half-day school and 1% of those who attended
full-day school stated that they were on a diet. Conclusion: In order to
avoid unhealthy nutritional habits caused by different characteristics
and durations of schools, necessary information should be given to the
students in the form of lessons. In addition, the selection of foods for
the students who eat their meals in educational institutions should be
made and controlled by experts who specialize in this field.