The importance of nutrition conditions of preschool children to make a menu in a kindergarten

Cilj: glavni cilj ovog istraživanja je utvrditi postoji li razlika u stupnju uhranjenosti po dobnim skupinama te postoji li potreba za preinakom kcal vrijednosti dnevnih jelovnika (koji su isti za sve 4 dobne skupine) uz prijedlog intervencije unutar institucijskih mogućnosti (u dječjem vrtiću). Metode: za potrebe ovog istraživanja anketni upitnik je proveden tijekom dva tjedna kroz lipanj 2020. godine na 128 roditelja djece Dječjeg vrtića „Grigor Vitez“. Za izračun pokazatelja uhranjenosti odnosno pothranjenosti korištene su visina i težina djeteta te su dobiveni rezultati za indeks tjelesne mase (ITM) i percentilne krivulje indeksa tjelesne mase, definirane prema spolu i uzrastu, izračunati sa stranice CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/bmi/calculator.html). Ispitanici do 5. percentile svrstani su u skupinu pothranjene djece, od 5. do 85. percentile u grupu normalno uhranjenih, od 85. do 95. u grupu s povećanom tjelesnom težinom te iznad 95. percentile u grupu pretilih. Upotrebom metoda deskriptivne statistike prezentiraju se aritmetička sredina i standardna devijacija kao pokazatelj odstupanja od aritmetičke sredine. Razlika u numeričkim vrijednostima s obzirom na odabrane kategorije ispituje se ANOVA testom. Analiza je rađena u statističkom softveru STATISTICA 12. Rezultati: u istraživanju je sudjelovalo 57,48 % ženske i 63,52 % muške djece. Najveći prosječan ITM je utvrđen kod djece starosne dobi 3,00 – 3,99 godina (15,91) te je za 0,37 bodova veći u odnosu na prosječan ITM djece starosne dobi 6,00 – 6,99 godina, dok testiranjem nije utvrđeno postojanje razlike (F = 0,25; p = 0,862). Najveći prosječni percentil je utvrđen kod djece starosne dobi 6,00 – 6,99 godina (60,30) te je za 12,89 bodova veći u odnosu na prosječnu vrijednost percentila djece starosne dobi 3,00 – 3,99 godina, a testiranjem nije utvrđeno postojanje razlike (F = 0,936; p = 0,426). Zaključci: dobiveni rezultati ne upućuju na potrebu za preinakom kcal vrijednosti dnevnih jelovnika u Dječjem vrtiću „Grigor Vitez“ jer nije utvrđena razlika u stupnju uhranjenosti po dobnim skupinama ispitivane djece. Ovi rezultati mogu se koristiti pri izradi preventivnog edukacijskog zdravstvenog programa u cijeloj Republici Hrvatskoj u kojem bi sudjelovalo osoblje dječjih vrtića: ravnatelji, odgojitelji, pedagozi, psiholozi, zdravstveni voditelji – prvostupnici ili magistri sestrinstva, kuhari te nutricionisti i doktori medicine specijalisti pedijatrije kako bi se utvrdilo stvarno stanje uhranjenosti djece, mogućnosti unaprjeđenja jelovnika u dječjim vrtićima i stvaranje zdravih životnih navika od najranije dobi.Introduction and Aim: the main objective of this research is to determine if there is any difference in the level of nutrition in different age groups and is there any need for adjusting the caloric value for the daily menues (which are identic for all 4 age groups) with proposition of interventions within of institutional possibility (kindergarten). Material and methods: for the purposes of this research, the questionnaire was conducted during two weeks in June 2020 on 128 parents of “Grigor Vitez” kindergarten children. The height and weight of the children were used to calculate the nutritional and malnutrition indicators, and the results of the body mass index (BMI) and percentile curves of the body mass index, defined by sex and age, calculated from the CDC page (https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/bmi/calculator.html), were obtained. Subjects up to the 5th percentile were classified in the group of malnourished children, from the 5th to the 85th percentile in the group of normally fed, from the 85th to the 95th in the group with increased body weight and above the 95th percentile in the group of obese. Using the methods of descriptive statistics, the arithmetic mean and standard deviation are presented as an indicator of deviation from the arithmetic mean. The difference in numerical values with respect to the selected categories is examined by the ANOVA test. The analysis was performed in the statistical software STATISTICA 12. Results: 57.48 % of female and 63.52 % of male children participated in the study. The highest average BMI was found in children aged 3.00 - 3.99 years (15.91), and was 0.37 points higher than the average BMI of children aged 6.00 - 6.99 years, while testing did not determine the existence of a difference (F = 0.25; p = 0.862). The highest average percentile was found in children aged 6.00 - 6.99 years (60.30), and was 12.89 points higher than the average value of the percentile of children aged 3.00 - 3.99 years, and testing did not reveal any difference (F = 0.936; p = 0.426). Conclusion: the obtained results do not indicate the need to change the caloric value of daily menus in the kindergarten Grigor Vitez because no difference was found in the degree of nutrition by age groups of the examined children. These results can be used in creation of preventive educational health program throughout the Republic of Croatia in which the staff of kindergartens would participate; principals, educators, pedagogues, psychologists, health leaders-bachelors or masters of nursing, chefs, and nutritionists and medical doctors specializing in pediatrics to determine the actual nutritional status of children, opportunities to improve the menu in kindergartens and create healthy living habits from an early age