An assessment of diet quality in kindergartens in the City of Pula

Zadovoljavanje nutritivnih potreba djece predškolske dobi pomnim planiranjem prehrane u dječjim vrtićima pogoduje adekvatnom rastu i razvoju. Cilj istraživanja bio je analizirati kakvoću prehrane u 5 dječjih vrtića Grada Pule procjenom usklađenosti jelovnika (n=100) s preporučenim vrijednostima za unos energije i hranjivih tvari za djecu dobi 4-6 godina. Također, cilj je bio usporediti vrijednosti dobivene standardnim analitičkim metodama i računskom metodom prema utrošku namirnica za planirani unos energije i hranjivih tvari prema jelovnicima. Svega 58 % jelovnika u sezoni proljeće/ljeto i 38 % jelovnika u sezoni jesen/zima zadovoljilo je preporuku za unos energije prema unosu makronutrijenata procijenjenom računskom metodom. Izračunati planirani dnevni unos makronutrijenata u skladu je s preporukama, dok je unos vitamina A, vitamina B1, cinka i kalcija manji od preporučenih vrijednosti, a unos natrija i fosfora veći od preporuka. Nije utvrđena statistički značajna razlika u planiranom unosu makronutrijenata i natrija između dviju metoda. Upotreba obje vrste metoda može pomoći u procjeni kakvoće prehrane te olakšati usklađivanje jelovnika s prehrambenim standardom i normativima.Meeting the nutritional needs of preschool children through careful diet planning in kindergartens favors normal growth and development. This study aimed to analyze the diet quality in 5 kindergartens in the city of Pula by assessing the compliance of the menu (n=100) with the recommended values for energy and nutrients intake for children aged 4-6 years. Also, the aim was to compare the values obtained by standard analytical methods and the calculation method according to the consumption of food for the planned intake of energy and nutrients according to the menus. Only 58 % of the menus in the spring/summer season and 38 % of the menus in the autumn/winter season met the recommendation for energy intake according to macronutrients intake estimated by the calculation method. The calculated planned daily intake of macronutrients is in accordance with recommendations, while vitamin A, vitamin B1, zinc, and calcium intakes are lower, and sodium and phosphorus intakes exceed recommendations. No significant difference in the planned intake of macronutrients and sodium was found between the two used methods. The use of both types of methods can help assess the diet quality and facilitate the harmonization of menus with dietary standard and normative