The attitudes and habits of Serbian schoolchildren in consumption of meat

The goal of this paper was to explore attitudes and habits of Serbian schoolchildren in consumption of meat. Survey was conducted using self-administrated questionnaire, on a sample of 228 schoolchildren from 7 to 18 years of age, divided into three class groups (I group - from I-IV and II group from V-VIII - Primary school; III group from I-IV - High school). The results showed that all examined schoolchildren had habit to eat meat, except one of them. In regard to the preference, meat and meat products as foodstuff were categorized among schoolchildren as 'much liked food' There was statistically significant difference (p lt 0.05) in explored attitude about consumption of chicken, pork, beef/veal, lamb and venison meat. Schoolchildren of all examined groups primarily consumed chicken meat, followed by pork, beef/veal, and lamb, and at the last place venison. Also, results show that most of schoolchildren usually eat meat prepared at home for one meal per a day, which is in accordance with recommendation provided by Gazette for nutrition of schoolchildren in children's institution of the Republic of Serbia. Responses to the question 'How often do you eat meat?' in 21.49% of total number indicated that eating habits in meat consumption may cause heart problems in schoolchildren population. Survey results showed that schoolchildren primarily eat meat prepared at home, in cooked dishes, as well as grilled or roasted meats. Small percentage (2.68%) pointed that they consumed meat 'three times a day', while 18.86 % do it only once a week or once a month.
Cilj ovog rada bio je da se ispitaju stavovi i navike školske dece u Srbiji u konzumiranju mesa i proizvoda od mesa. Istraživanje je sprovedeno korišćenjem upitnika, na uzorku od 228 školske dece, uzrasta 7 do 18 godina, podeljene u tri grupe (od I - IV i V - VIII razreda osnovne i I - IV razreda srednje škole). Rezultati su pokazali da, osim jednog deteta, sva ispitana deca koriste meso u ishrani. Po pitanju dopadljivosti, meso i proizvodi od mesa su namirnice koje se među decom kategorišu kao 'mnogo mi se sviđa'. Statistički značajna razlika (p lt 0,05) pokazala se u stavovima đaka prilikom konzumiranja pilećeg, svinjskog i junećeg/ telećeg, jagnjećeg i mesa divljači. Takođe, rezultati su pokazali da školska deca, obično, jedu meso kod kuće, bar za jedan obrok, što je u skladu sa preporukama Pravilnika o normativima društvene ishrane dece u ustanovama za decu Republike Srbije. Odgovori na pitanje 'Koliko često jedete meso?', u 21,49% školske dece, ukazuju na činjenicu da bi način na koji deca konzumiraju meso mogao da dovede do srčanih oboljenja. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da školska deca primarno jedu meso koje je pripremljeno kod kuće, kako kuvano, tako i pečeno i prženo. Mali procenat ispitane školske dece (2,68%) se izjasnio da jede meso 'tri puta dnevno', dok 18,86 % dece konzumira meso jednom nedeljno, ili jednom mesečno.