The influence of certain factors of family nutrition on the occurrence of nutritional anemia among school children

Abstract

© Serbian Medical Society 2015. All rights reserved. Objective. The aim of our study was to determine the influence of family nutrition and eating habits on potential development of nutritional anemia in school-age children. Methods. The survey was conducted as an observational cross-sectional study in four primary schools in Kragujevac, during the academic year 2014/2015 on 114 respondents. The data of this study were obtained by combining survey research, anthropometric and biochemical measurements. The survey was conducted during regular hours in schools and included pupils in the first and fourth grade of elementary schools and their parents. Results. Processing the collected data showed that the family diet and eating habits can contribute to the occurrence of anemia in children of school age. It was found that the following factors had a statistically significant influence on the manifestation of anemia: the use of nuts, the way of preparing food and the number of daily meals. Conclusion. Adequately preparing food and the number of meals (less than five), pointed out that proper nutrition and eating habits can potentially contribute to the reduction of the development of anemia in school-age children.