ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PROPER NUTRITION AMONG PARENTS OF CHILDREN AGED 6-10

Background
One of the most important factors in a child's development is balanced diet and the formation of good eating habits.

Material and methods
Parents of children (n=908) aged 6-10 attending primary schools in Poland were surveyed between September 2018 and June 2019. The research tool was a survey questionnaire, which was divided into 4 parts. The first 3 parts dealt with information about the child, while the 4th part was dedicated to parents, and the questions in it assessed parents' knowledge about the correct principles of child nutrition.

Results
Almost half of the respondents rightly claimed that a proper balanced diet for a child should include five or more meals per day. The majority of respondents, i.e. 40.5% stated incorrectly that the child's daily intake of milk or milk products should be one portion. Only 6.4% of the parents correctly considered that the daily consumption of dairy products by the child should be at least three to four portions. The correct answer about the recommended consumption of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day was indicated by 12.7% of parents. Almost half of the parents knew that regular physical activity is at the base of the Pyramid of Healthy Food and Lifestyle for Children and Teenagers.

Conclusions
Parents' knowledge of proper nutrition is still insufficient. It is very important that the correct principles of nutrition apply to everyone in the household, and not just to the child in an isolated way.