School of Biological Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Ireland.
J Hum Nutr Diet. 2011 Jun;24(3):245-59. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-277X.2011.01153.x.
Full-day-care pre-schools contribute significantly to the nutritional intake and acquisition of dietary habits of the pre-school child. The present study investigated nutritional practices in full-day-care pre-schools in Dublin, Ireland, aiming to determine the nutritional support that pre-school managers deem necessary, thereby facilitating the amelioration of existing pre-school nutritional training and practices.
A telephone questionnaire completed by pre-school managers (n=54) examined pre-school dietary practices, food provision and the association between these and pre-school size, nutritional training attendance, possession of the Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Pre-school Services and having a healthy eating policy. Nutritional training needs were also investigated.
Twenty-five pre-schools provided all food for attending children; parents were sole providers in six. Thirty-four pre-schools had a written healthy eating policy. Attendance at nutritional training was reported by 40. Possession of the Guidelines (n=40) did not consistently result in their use. Poor parental and staff involvement in policy and menu development was cited. Although the delayed introduction of iron-containing foods and a feeding beaker in infants was clearly evident, inappropriate beverages and snacks were served to children aged 1-5 years in 43 and 37 pre-schools, respectively. Training priorities cited by managers included parental education and the provision of information regarding menu planning and healthy food choices.
Nutritional training should advocate whole staff familiarity with and use of current guidelines, in addition to encouraging nutritional policy development and enforcement. Parental education is warranted. Dietary education should focus specifically on appropriate weaning practices, healthy beverage and snack provision and menu planning.
全日制幼儿园对学龄前儿童的营养摄入和饮食习惯的形成有重要影响。本研究旨在调查爱尔兰都柏林的全日制幼儿园的营养实践情况，确定幼儿园管理人员认为必要的营养支持，从而促进改善现有的幼儿园营养培训和实践。
通过电话问卷调查，对幼儿园管理人员（n=54）进行了调查，内容包括幼儿园的饮食实践、食品供应以及这些因素与幼儿园规模、营养培训参与情况、拥有《学前服务食品和营养指南》以及制定健康饮食政策之间的关系。还调查了营养培训需求。
25 所幼儿园为所有入园儿童提供所有食物；6 所幼儿园仅由家长提供食物。34 所幼儿园有书面的健康饮食政策。40 所幼儿园报告参加了营养培训。拥有《指南》（n=40）并不一定导致其使用。家长和工作人员参与政策和菜单制定的情况较差。尽管明显存在婴儿铁含量食物和喂养杯延迟引入的情况，但在 43 所和 37 所幼儿园中，1-5 岁的儿童分别提供了不合适的饮料和零食。管理人员提出的培训重点包括家长教育以及提供有关菜单规划和健康食物选择的信息。
营养培训应倡导全体员工熟悉和使用现行指南，同时鼓励制定和执行营养政策。有必要对家长进行教育。饮食教育应特别关注适当的断奶实践、健康饮料和零食供应以及菜单规划。
