In a time of adolescence, consuming vitamins and minerals (elements), water, and roughage is very important. Vegetables should be on the menu every day in a week. In a time of adolescence, consumption of vegetables is below recommendations. It is recommended to consume 400 to 650 g of vegetables. It depends on numerous factors whether youth and children eat healthy food or not. Such factors are culture, social environment (family, friends, classmates, school), exposure (accessibility, inaccessibility), social-economic condition, emotions, self-efficiency, sensory characteristics (form, color, smell, taste, texture), knowledge (nutrients, health effect), preparation (method of preparation – cooking, roasting, frying, mashing; form of vegetables – strips, cubes) and serving the vegetables (color, layout).
The purpose of the thesis was to research and to compare the relationship of pupils of the fifth and the ninth grades of the elementary school to consuming vegetables.
Forty-six pupils of the fifth grade and sixty-six pupils of the ninth grade were included in the research, altogether 112. The technique of data collection was anonymous survey questionnaire.
The results show that there are no bigger differences in relationship towards vegetables between the pupils of the fifth and the ninth grades. The answers were quite similar. The participants are deterred by sensory characteristics of vegetables, while their families encourage them to consume vegetables: most of them consume it every day. The school is encouraging them as well. The pupils of the both grades prefer cooked or raw vegetables. They would consume more vegetables if they prepared it by themselves. They realize the important effect of vegetables for health. They know nutrients contained by vegetables. However, they wish no more vegetables in meals in school.
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