[Factual nutrition and several indicators of health status of urban schoolchildren of the regions of Ukraine].

Altogether 2334 schoolchildren (first-, fifth- and eighth-graders) were examined for the factual nutrition, health status and physical development. The diet received by the schoolgirls of the above grades and that of the first-grade boys correlated well with the recommended physiological standards, whereas the diet of the eight-grade boys and five-grade boys in particular was slightly lower as compared to those standards. Attention is drawn to an ever increasing number of obese children, which has an adverse effect on the percentage of harmoniously developed children, reducing it to 66.7%. To improve the nutrition of schoolchildren, the authors have developed sets of foods and exemplary menus which have been included into the methodological instructions for organization of schoolchildren's catering in nonspecialized schools of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.