The 100% of the school children from Granada aged between 8 and 15 do not consume daily the 3 serves of vegetables and fruit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to a study carried out at the Department of Nutrition and Bromatology of the University of Granada. In addition, 76% and 56% of the students do not take the 5 serves a day of cereal and pulse, respectively, recommended by such organization, although the consumption of olive oil approaches the standards given by the Mediterranean Diet.
This research, carried out by Javier Velasco Costa and directed by Professors Fátima Olea Serrano, Ana Mª Rivas Velasco and Miguel Mariscal Arcas, was developed on a sample of 3,190 children and teenagers in schools of the city of Granada, aged between 8 and 15 years old; 1557 of them were men and 1597, women.
The study grouped them together according to the city districts established by the Town Hall of Granada and the type of school (public, state assisted or private). A total of 8 districts and 35 uniformly distributed centres were established, distinguishing different cultural and social-economic levels.
Too much fat
The dietetic pattern of the school children of Granada is characterized by a low intake of vegetables, fruit, cereal, pulse and fibre, and a high consumption of protein foods, dairy products, sugar and sweet things. Besides it, according to the authors of the work, 55,6% of the school children take more than 40% of the diet energy from fats, despite the fact that this fraction should not go beyond 30-35% of the total calories. Therefore, there is a clear imbalance in the caloric profile of the diets, with a high intake of fats ad proteins to the detriment of carbohydrates.
The research work carried out at the UGR has revealed that, according to the nutritional objectives and the dietetic guides for the Spanish population, the most serious nutritional mistakes of the school population’s diet are the high intake of saturated fatty acids and total fat and the deficient intake of fibre and complex carbohydrates. Those nutrients which do not cover the recommendations are vitamin E and iodine.
In the light of the results of this survey, 47,4 % of the school children present an optimum Mediterranean diet, whereas 50,7 % should improve it. Poor results were obtained in the categories of regular consumption of fish, pasta, rice and nuts and dried food, as well as in the intake of fast-food, sweets consumption and the inclusion of industrial pastries in breakfast.
From the Albaicín to the Centre
The smaller is the individual’s town of residence, the more adequate is his diet. «In general, older and male individuals seem to present a lower average in the diet quality index and, therefore, a lower adherence to the pattern of Mediterranean Diet», point out the scientists of the UGR. By districts, the Albaicín is the district most widely separated from the Mediterranean Diet ideal, whereas the best results have been obtained in Beiro and Centre.
Javier Velasco says that the immediate social implications of this research work «are the possible adoption of measures to correct school children’s bad dietetic habits, precisely at these early ages, with the object of avoiding risks (such as cardiovascular diseases) derived from such bad habits in the adult stage».
The results of this research work have been published, up to the moment, in several scientific nutrition journals, classified among the 10 first of the respective field.
The sampling in the schools has been possible thanks to a specific collaboration agreement signed in December 2005 between the Town Hall of Granada and the department of Nutrition and Bromatology of the University of Granada
Reference:
Javier Velasco Costa.
Department of Nutrition and Bromatology of the University of Granada.
Phone number: 958242841. Mobile: 656186222.
E-mail: jvcvoleibol@hotmail.com