Nutritional Status of the School Children Attending to Government and Private Elementary Schools

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the fo o d intake o f 300 school children attending to private (full-time education) and government (part time education) elementary schools. The percentages o f skipping meals were found to be 69.3% and 84.7%'in government and private elementary schools, respectively. The breakfast and dinner were the most skipped meals in private elemetıtary school children (37.8%, 19.7%, respectively). Also, 72.1% o f government school children \vere missing out the lunch. Daily intakes o f energy, animal protein, calcium, riboflavin, niasin, vitamin C were found 1825±44 kkal, 22.2±1.31 g, 589±22.07 mg, 8.13±0.31 mg, 6.93±0.20 mg, 3689±368.36 IU, 1.32±0.05 mg, 1.39±0.56 mg, 7.80±D.41 mg and 77±5.90 mg,for children attending to government school and 2384±38 kkal, 32.62±1.41 g, 674±43.4 mg, 11.27±D.34 mg, 9.39±0.20 mg 4058±306.33 IU, 1.54±0.08 mg, 1.12±0.04 mg, 13.08±D.51 mg, 67±3.60 mg fo r private elemantary school children, respectively. İn general, althoııgh the total daily intakes o f energy and nutrients w er e found higher in private schools t han government schools, no statistically signifıca?ıy w as found except fo r vitamin A (p<0.01), niasin (p<0.01), and vitamin C (p<0.05). However, intakes o f energy and the other nutrients consumed during the stay at the school, except that calcium and vitamin C, \vere higher in private elementary school children than government school children (p<0.01). There were not significant dijferences o f the body weight and the body mass indexes in both groups.