The Proper Nutrition for Children

Tema ovog diplomskog rada je primjena pravilne prehrane u djece predškolske dobi. Prvi dio rada opisuje nužne sastojke hrane za funkcioniranje organizma: bjelančevine, ugljikohidrate, masti, vitamine (A, B, C, D, E i K), minerale i vodu. Dječja prehrana treba biti bogata i raznolika, a to podrazumijeva konzumiranje voća i povrća, žitarica, crvenog i bijelog mesa, ribe i mliječnih proizvoda. Piramida pravilne prehrane sadrži odnos i količinu dnevnog unosa namirnica. U radu se opisuju prehrambene potrebe i preporučena prehrana za dijete od rođenja do sedme godine života. Prehrana u dječjim vrtićima Republike Hrvatske je propisana od strane Ministarstva zdravstva i izvodi se prema „Programu za zdravstvenu zaštitu djece, njihove higijene i pravilne prehrane djece u dječjem vrtiću“. Program provodi suvremene standarde za planiranje prehrane i nastoji potaknuti djecu na usvajanje pozitivnih prehrambenih navika od najranije dobi. Nadalje, ako je dijete preosjetljivo ili alergično na neke sastojke iz hrane prehrani se treba pridati još veća važnost te su u radu spomenuti savjeti roditeljima čija djeca imaju reakcije obrambenog sustava na sastojke iz hrane. Na kraju se spominje najveći problem suvremenog, sjedilačkog načina života, a to je pretilost. Opisuju se uzroci nastanka pretilosti te načini prevencije kao što su pravilna prehrana, tjelesna aktivnost i podrška roditelja djetetu. Kako bi se dala kompletna slika primjene pravilne prehrane provedeno je istraživanje koje za cilj ima uvidjeti provodi li se zaista pravilna prehrana u dječjim vrtićima. Sveukupno gledajući rezultati istraživanja govore o nepotpunoj provedbi pravilne prehrane. Kreatori jelovnika u dječjim vrtićima ne pridržavaju se u potpunosti smjernica koje su donesene u spomenutom programu od strane Ministarstva zdravstva.The topic of this graduate thesis is the use of proper nutrition in preschool children. The first part of the work describes needful ingredients of food for the functioning of the body: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins (A, B, C, D, E and K), minerals and water. Children nutrition needs to be rich and varied, which means consuming fruits and vegetables, cereals, red and white meat, fish and dairy products. The proper diet pyramid contains the ratio and amount of daily food intake. The paper describes nutritional needs and recommends nutrition for child from birth to seven years of age. Nutrition in kindergartens in the Republic of Croatia is prescribed by the Ministry of Health and is conducted according to the "Health care program for children, their hygiene and proper diet for children in a pediatric". The program implements modern standards for nutrition planning and continues to encourage children to adopt positive nutrition habits from the earliest age. Furthermore, if the child is hypersensitive or allergic to some food ingredients, even greater importance should be given to diet, and advice is given to parents whose children have reaction of the defense system to the food ingredients. Finally, the biggest problem of modern, sedentary lifestyle is mentioned, which is obesity. The causes of obesity and prevention methods are described such as proper nutrition, physical activity, and parents support for child. In order to give a complete picture of the use of proper nutrition, research has been carried out to find out if a proper nutrition is being done in kindergartens. Overall, the survey results indicate incomplete implementation of proper nutrition. The creators of the food menu in kindergartens do not fully comply with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health in the aforementioned program