Introduction. Nutrition is one of the most critical factors determining the health status of children and adolescents. Violation of the nutritional status in excess body weight hurts the state of physical development of children. Malnutrition in childhood in childhood is a risk factor for the development of alimentary-dependent diseases, which determined the relevance of this study-the study of the structure of the actual nutrition of younger schoolchildren with various indicators of nutritional status to develop recommendations for optimizing the diet. Material and methods. The essential nutrition was studied in 80 younger schoolchildren of public educational institutions of Smolensk at the age of 9.5-10.5 years. To determine the nutritional status of schoolchildren, we used the standards of the World Health Organization (2007). Actual nutrition was studied using the 24-hour nutritional reproduction method. The composition of the body of children was investigated by the bioimpedance method using the AVS-02 Medass analyzer. Results. In the structure of nutrition of primary schoolchildren, regardless of the nutritional status of children, there is a deficit in the consumption of many essential products of the children’s diet (milk and dairy products, fish, vegetables, and fruits). In the diets of schoolchildren with excessive nutritional status, an excess of products with high energy value (confectionery and pasta, sugar) was revealed. In the intake of essential nutrients, there was noted an imbalance associated with excessive consumption of fats and carbohydrates, along with a lack of dietary fibers, a number of minerals (calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc, iodine), and vitamins (C, B1, B2, A, E, biotin). Conclusion. Comparative analysis of the actual nutrition in primary schoolchildren identified disorders and structure of food packages’ imbalance composition, most pronounced in children with excessive nutritional status. The performed correlation analysis confirmed the existence of a reliable relationship between nutritional status indices, anthropometric indices, and parameters of the body composition of the examined children.

Background: Organization of school meals remains one of the important elements of preserving health of schoolchildren. The influence of the alimentary factor is most pronounced in the “sensitive periods” of childhood, one of which is primary school age. Our objective was to do hygienic assessment of nutrition of primary school children in the city of Smolensk and compliance of school diets with the principles of rational and adequate nutrition. Materials and methods: The object of the study included ten educational institutions representing all districts of Smolensk and contractors providing services for organization of school meals. The hygienic assessment of organization of school meals and actual nutrition of primary school children (grades 1–4, 7–11 years of age) was based on valid sanitary regulations. School breakfast and lunch were evaluated from a hygienic point of view. Results: We established that the school diets of younger schoolchildren in urban educational institutions were deficient in nutritional composition and caloric content, irrational and insufficiently balanced. School meals were characterized by a 1.5–1.6 times lower caloric content compared to the dietary reference intake due to a reduced content of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. The contents of microelements and vitamins were on the average by 10–67% and 15–69% lower than the recommended norms of physiological requirements of schoolchildren of this age group. The lack of fresh fruit and milk in school meals was another unfavorable factor in nutrition of schoolchildren. Conclusion: Our results dictate the need to optimize the diets of schoolchildren and to strengthen production control and sanitary and epidemiologic surveillance of compliance with hygienic requirements for catering in urban educational institutions.

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Relevance: Parameters of learning environment and organization of the educational process can have adverse health effects in schoolchildren. Our objective was to conduct a hygienic assessment of factors of learning environment and organization of the educational process at schools of the city of Smolensk. Materials and methods: We studied indicators of indoor learning environment and the level of organization of the educational process in ten urban comprehensive schools. A hygienic assessment of the microclimate, illuminance, indoor air quality, and organization of the educational process for third and fourth graders (aged 9–11) was given. The assessment of learning conditions and organization of the educational process was carried out according to the method generally accepted in hygienic research (Suharev AG, Kanevskaya LY, 2002). Results: We found that elementary school pupils of Smolensk were exposed to multiple adverse factors such as poor microclimate parameters and insufficient natural illumination in some school rooms, excessive daily study load and irrational distribution of the academic load during the school week. The analysis of the timetable revealed an irrational distribution of the academic load in 37.3% of school days. We established that conditions of education in the surveyed urban schools were moderately dangerous to children’s health (750–806 points). Conclusion: The results enabled us to give a hygienic assessment of the factors of learning environment and organization of the educational process at schools in Smolensk and to outline a set of appropriate preventive measures.

A hygienic assessment of the eating habits of younger schoolchildren of Smolensk was carried out. A survey of 307 schoolchildren of 3–4 grades with various parameters of physical development in the field of nutrition and lifestyle was carried out. The respondents’ diet showed: insufficient and irregular consumption of food – sources of animal protein (meat, milk and dairy products, fish), lack of vegetables, popularity of fast-food products, sweets and sweet carbonated drinks. The violations in the diet and the level of motor activity are most pronounced in the group of children with overweight and obesity. The results confirm the need to develop preventive measures aimed at developing a healthy eating culture among schoolchildren.