Skip to main content
Log in

Dietary Habits of Greek Primary School Children

  • Published:
Journal of Science Education and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess Greek primary (1st to 6th grade) school children’s dietary habits and the factors influencing them. Our results show that children know the value of different foods. The socio-economic status of father has no effect on the attitude of children towards choosing their diet, however, mothers’ educational status appears to have an effect on their children’s behaviour. Place of residence (urban or semi-rural areas) and gender does not influence their knowledge about different diets. It was, finally, shown that as children grow older they tend to eat less healthy foods.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anliker J. A., Laus M. J., Samonds K. W., Beal V. A. (1990) Parental messages and the nutrition awareness of preschool children. Journal of Nutrition Education 22:24–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong B., Doll R. (1975) Environmental factors and cancer incidence and mortality in different countries, with special reference to dietary practices. International Journal of Cancer 15:617–631

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Axelson M. L., Federline T. L., Brinberg D. (1985) A meta-analysis of food- and nutrition-related research. Journal of Nutrition Education 17:51–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Birch L. L. (1990) Development of food acceptance patterns. Developmental Psychology 26:515–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brug J., Lechner L., De Vries H. (1995) Psychosocial determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption. Appetite 25:285–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullen K. W., Eagan J., Baranowski T., Owens E., de Moor C. (2000) Effects of a la carte and snack bar foods at school on children’s lunchtime intake of fruits and vegetables. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 100:1482–1486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doll R., Peto R. (1981) The causes of cancer: Quantitative estimates of avoidable risks of cancer in the United States today. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 66:1191–1308

    Google Scholar 

  • Domel S. B., Baranowski T., Davis H. C., Thompson W. O., Leonard S. B., Baranowski J. (1996), A measure of stages of change in fruit and vegetable consumption among fourth and fifth grade school children: Reliability and validity. Health Education Research 15:56–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Foerster S. B., Kizer K. W., Disogra L. K., Bal D. G., Krieg B. F., Bunch K. L. (1995) California’s “5 a day-for better health!” campaign: an innovative population-based effort to effect large-scale dietary change. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 11:124–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson E. L., Wardle J., Watts C. J. (1998) Fruit and vegetable consumption, nutritional knowledge and beliefs in mother and children. Apetite 31:205–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greek Pedagogical Institute (2001). The National Curriculum of Compulsory Education, Athens, Greece

  • Hart K. H., Bishop J. A., Truby H. (2002) An investigation into school children’s Knowledge and awareness of food and nutrition. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 15:129–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelder S. H., Perrey C. L., Klepp K. I., Lytle L. L. (1994) Longitudinal tracking of adolescent smoking, physical activity, and food choice behaviours. American Journal of Public Health 84:1121–1126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy E., Meyers L., Layden W. (1996) The 1995 dietary guidelines for Americans: An overview. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 96:234–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Key T. J., Allen N. E., Spencer E. A., Travis R. C. (2002) The effects of diet on risk of cancer. Lancet 360:861–868

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimm S. Y. S., Gergen P. J., Malloy M., Dresser C., Carrol M. (1990) Dietary patterns of US children: Implications for disease prevention. Preventive Medicine 19:432–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krebs-Smith S. M., Heimendinger J., Patterson B. H., Subar A. F., Kessler R., Pivonka E. (1995) Psychosocial factors associated with fruit and vegetable consumption. American Journal of Health Promotion 10:98–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Laitinen S., Rasanen L., Viikari J., Akerblom H. K. (1995) Diet of Finnish children in relation to family’s socio-economic status. Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine 23:88–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandell, R. J. (Ed.) (1993). The strategic plan for nutrition education: Promoting healthy eating habits for our children, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Nutrition and Technological Service Division, Washington, DC

  • Manios Y., Moschandreas J., Hatzis C., Kafatos A. (2002) Health and nutrition education in primary schools of Crete: Changes in chronic disease risk factors following a 6-year intervention programme. The British Journal of Nutrition 88:315–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McPherson R. S., Montgomery D. H., Nichaman M. Z. (1995) Nutritional status of children: What we know? Journal of Nutrition Education 27:225–234

    Google Scholar 

  • National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2000). Young people aged 4 to 18 years, Vol. 1: Findings, The Stationery Office, London

  • Parkin, D. M., Whelan, S. L., Ferlay, J., Raymond, L., and Young, J. (1997). Cancer incidence in five continents, Vol. VII (pp. 1–50). IARC Press

  • Piperakis S. M., Papadimitriou V., Piperakis M. M., Zisis P. (2003) Understanding Greek primary school children’s comprehension of sun exposure. Journal of Science Education and Technology 12:135–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piperakis S. M., Apostolou A., Georgiou E., Thanou A., Zafiropoulou M. (2004) Understanding nutrition: A study of Greek primary school children dietary habits, before and after classroom nutrition intervention. Journal of Science Education and Technology 13:129–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petridou E., Malamou H., Doxiadis S., Pantelakis S., Kanellopoulou G., Toupadaki N., Trichopoulou A., Flytzani V., Trichopoulos D. (1995) Blood lipids in Greek adolescents and their relation to diet, obesity, and socio-economic factors. Annals of Epidemiology 5:286–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Resnicow K., DavisHearn M., Smith M., Baranowski J., Doyle C., Wang D. Q. T. (1997) Social-cognitive predictors of fruit and vegetables intake in children. Health Psychology 16:272–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roma-Giannikou E., Adamidis D., Gianniou M., Nikolara R., Matsaniotis N. (1997) Nutritional survey in Greek children: Nutrient intake. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51:273–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarafino E. P. (1998) Heath psychology: Biopsychosocial interactions. (3rd Edition), New York: Wiley

    Google Scholar 

  • Shepherd R., Towel G. (1992) Nutrition knowledge, attitudes and fat intake: Application of theory of reasoned action. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 5:387–397

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan S. A., Birch L. L. (1990) Pass the sugar, pass the salt: Experience dictates Preference. Developmental Psychology 26:546–551

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsilimigaki S., Zafiropoulou M., Piperakis S. M. (2001) Effects of diet on DNA damage of rural and urban populations. Reviews of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics 19:215–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsilimigaki S., Messini-Nikolaki N., Kanariou M., Piperakis S. M. (2003) A study on the effects of seasonal solar radiation on exposed populations. Mutagenesis 18:139–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vereecken C. A., Keukelier E., Maes L. (2004) Influence of mother’s educational level on food parenting practices and food habits of young children. Apetite 43:93–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle J. (1995), Parental influences on children’s diets. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 54:747–758

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe W. S., Cambell C. C. (1993) Food pattern, diet quality, and related characteristics of schoolchildren in New York State. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 93:1280–1284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams C. L., Bollella M., Boccia L., Spark A. (1998) Dietary fat and children’s Health. Nutrition Today 33:144–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, C. L., Daniels, S., Hayman, L., Robinson, T., Steinberger, J., and Paridon, S. (2001). Cardiovascular health promotion in childhood, Committee on Atherosclerosis, Hypertension and obesity in youth. Council on CVD in youth, American Heart Association, Circulation

  • World Health Organisation (1990). Diet, nutrition, and prevention of chronic diseases, Report of a WHO study group. WHO, Geneva (Technical Report Series-797)

  • Young E. M., Fors S. W. (2001) Factors related to the eating habits of students in grades 9–12. Journal of Health Science 71:483–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshiike N., Matsumura Y., Iwaya M., Sugiyama M., Yamaguchi M. (1996) National nutrition survey in Japan. Journal of Epidemiology 6:189–200

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. M. Piperakis.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Piperakis, S.M., Papadimitriou, V., Zafiropoulou, M. et al. Dietary Habits of Greek Primary School Children. J Sci Educ Technol 16, 271–278 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-006-9041-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-006-9041-3

Keywords

Navigation