ESCOLAR EN ESPAÑA

The different dietary habits and nutritional status of Spanish schoolchildren have been analyzed. Nutrition affects health throughout the life cycle, and it is best to begin to prevent harm early on. Habits are formed early in life, and habits are a major determinant of food choice in later life. Two trends in particular are worthy of men-tion in this regard: the progressive globalisation of the food supply and the increase of food intake such as snacks, soft drinks and fast food, wich tipically apport a significant part of daily diet. In Spain, young people are abandoning the “Mediterranean Diet ” in favour of indus-trial products, full of calories and saturated fatty acids but low in nutritional components, wich is contributing to obesity and rising cholesterol levels. Also, breakfast con-sumption has been identified as an important factor in the nutritional status of children and in Spain we are obser-ving that an increasing percentage of children are omit-ting breakfast