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Meal patterns and food use in 10- to 11-year-old Finnish children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Mila Haapalahti ,
Hannu Mykkänen ,
Sami Tikkanen  and
Jorma Kokkonen
Mila Haapalahti*
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Oulu, PO Box 5000, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland. Department of Clinical Nutrition, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
Hannu Mykkänen
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Nutrition, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
Sami Tikkanen
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Oulu, PO Box 5000, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland.
Jorma Kokkonen
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Oulu, PO Box 5000, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland.
*
*Corresponding author: Email mila.haapalahti@uku.fi
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Abstract

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Objective:

To describe the meal patterns and food use on weekdays among 10- to 11-year-old Finnish children and to analyse these in relation to family's socio-economic status and the child's behaviour.

Design:

Cross-sectional study on a cohort of 404 children aged 10–11 years in the rural town of Ylivieska, mid-western Finland.

Methods:

A food-frequency questionnaire including questions on meal patterns and food use and the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) completed by the parents and the child together.

Results:

Practically all children (99%) ate breakfast regularly, 94% had a daily school lunch and 80% had dinner at home daily. Vegetables were consumed daily at home by 26% and fruits or berries by 21%, while 46% of the children had salad daily at school. Twenty-four per cent ate sweets daily or nearly so on weekdays. The children from families of high socio-economic status ate vegetables more often, and fewer of them used butter or high-fat milk. The children with no regular family dinner ate sweets and fast foods more often, and had higher total CBCL problem scores than those with a regular family dinner.

Conclusion:

Skipping meals appears not to be common among Finnish children aged 10–11 years, but a considerable proportion consume sweets frequently and vegetables infrequently. High family socio-economic status and a tendency to eat together are associated with healthy food choices among schoolchildren.

Keywords

Food habitsFood useMeal patternsChildrenSocio-economic status
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , June 2003 , pp. 365 - 370
Copyright
Copyright © CABI Publishing 2003

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