The nutritional literacy of elementary school pupils in the perspective of acquiring nutritional skills

A person's health and quality of life are influenced by the degree of his or her nutritional literacy, and the acquired nutritional skills, determining the choice of food prepared and consumed by the person constitute an important part of it. Persons with nutritional skills are capable of using the acquired nutritional knowledge in planning their diet, buying their foodstuffs and in preparing their meals. The purpose of the study was to establish the nutritional skills acquired by elementary school pupils in school and home settings and the frequency of their use of a particular nutritional skill. The study included 90 pupils of the ninth year in elementary school. Data was collected with a questionnaire. The results demonstrated the following: pupils had acquired nutritional skills necessary to perform basic cooking procedures and the preparation of simple dishes, however, when it came to the preparation of complex dishes, most young people felt incompetent to prepare such dish on their own. The established situation indicates that both in school and at home pupils have to be brought up to acquire nutritional skills which can significantly contribute to their independent nutrition, based on a healthy choice of foodstuffs and the preparation of healthy dishes. Further research should provide a thorough study and estimation of the use of the acquired nutritional knowledge and skills by pupils in their everyday lives and determine specific needs for acquiring skills which are necessary for a young person's healthy eating habits at the end of compulsory education