Review of the studies on nutrition in Polish preschool children. Part 1. Preschool menus.

Unlabelled: The last review of the literature on nutrition in Polish children covered the years 1980-1995. From that time living conditions in Poland have changed due to political and economic changes. Attitudes toward eating and healthy life-style have also changed. Therefore, it is necessary to summarise current knowledge about what Polish preschool children eat. The aim of this article was to present the areas of research on nutrition in Polish preschool children based on the review of the literature, and to present and summarise the results of the studies on the assessment of preschool menus. The review of the literature showed two main areas of research on nutrition in Polish preschool children: the assessment of meals planned and served to children at preschools, and the assessment of food behaviour and daily food and nutrient intake in preschool children. Studies on energy and nutrient content of preschool menus should be carried out regularly in order to improve nutrition of children during their stay at preschool and vegetarian menus should be studied to fill the gap in the literature. The methodology of assessing preschool meals should be the same in order to provide the possibility to compare both the results and the conclusions. Preschool menus should be adjusted to the needs of 3-year-old children and 4-6-year-old children separately. The nation-wide education programme for preschool staff should be worked out and implemented in order to teach the preschool staff about the current nutrition recommendations for children, as well as the nutritional needs of 3-year-old children and 4-6-year-old children.

Key Words: preschool children, nutrition, preschool menus, energy content, nutrient content.