Specialists report deficiencies in children's nutrition in educational institutions

Chisinau, 3 December /MOLDPRES/- Specialists of the National Agency for Public Health / ANSP / recommend organizing free lunch for pupils in the secondary and high school classes, as there is an increase of about 20 percent in the diseases of the digestive system among minors. They announce that the food in schools is incomplete and outdated standards of consumption of bread and flour, lacking largely fruits, meat and dairy.

The data presented by ANSP show that in the institutions of early education, bread, croups, pasta and pastries far exceed the physiological norms of daily consumption for a child. And the share of the deficit of consumption of fresh vegetables varied in 2016-2018 from 21% to 6.8%. The largest deficit of vegetable consumption was determined in the children from the districts: Cahul - 19.7%, Floresti - 19.2%, Stefan-Voda - 17.4%, Cimișlia - 15.8%, Straseni - 14.8%, Ceadâr – Lunga - 12.5%.

ANSP specialists monitor the nutritional status of institutionalized children annually. The feeding of children from primary, secondary and high school institutions is organized only in primary classes and for children from socially vulnerable families. The share of nutrition in 2016-2018 has increased from 46.9% to 53.8%. The share of pupils who feed at the buffet of primary, secondary and high school institutions is 1.2%, and of those who are supplied to the pack is 0.4%.