Family influence on the formation of nutritional status of student youth, the dietary habits of future parents

Background. The family ensures the continuity of ge­nerations; this is a historically caused process of entering the younger generation into society. With the help of parents, children acquire the first life experience, skills and habits of a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, the family can act as a positive and negative factor in up-brin­ging simultaneously. Student youth are future parents, so, it is very important to introduce the principles of a healthy lifestyle and to form proper dietary habits right now. One of the most important reasons for the deterioration of health is the disturbance of the nutrition structure and deterioration of its quality. The purpose of the study was to conduct a hygienic assessment of the nutritional status and individual nutrition correction in students. Materials and me­thods. The study included 63 Ukrainian students of Orthodox worldview (37 girls and 26 boys aged from 19 to 21 years). The study was conducted ­using a questionnaire been developed by the Department of Hygiene and Social Medicine and approved by the research and scientific council of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. The students filled in the questionnaire by themselves within the elective course of “Nutritional Science” under the direction of a lector. The study was 4-staged. Results. The article deals with the main factors of for­ming the food culture of the future family as a means of achieving the health of children. 75 % of male students and 80 % of female students consumed proteins over the recommended age-appropriate normal value. Animal protein exceeds the recommended norm in 81.8 % of boys and 92 % of girls. Girls also consume fat above the age-appropriate normal value. When diffe­rentiating by gender, the ratio of breakfast, lunch and dinner was not found to differ between girls and boys; p > 0.05. In girls, the ratio was 29.7, 41.5, 28.8 %, and in boys — 27.6, 39.8, 32.9 %. According to the obtained results, students do not adhere to the recommendations of rational nutrition, and the excess of proteins and fats is adjusted by insufficient consumption of carbohydrates, which causes the lack of energy value of the daily diet, that can nega­tively affect the formation of rational nutrition of the future family