An unhealthy diet, combined with physical inactivity, greatly increases risk factors for the incidence of chronic noncommunicable diseases (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, high blood pressure). With a healthy and balanced diet, we can contribute to reducing the risk factors for the incidence of the aforementioned diseases (Ministry of Health, 2015).
The first step we can take towards a healthy way of eating and choosing food is to shape healthy eating guidelines, which would be understandable and simple for children and adults alike. Many world organisations are updating and preparing a number of diagrams for this purpose. Among them are the food pyramid and food plate, which are being used in primary schools on a massive scale.
The purpose of the diploma thesis is to compare how primary school students understand and use the food pyramid and food plate, and to determine which didactic aid (food pyramid or plate) is more easily understandable to students and more fit for use in primary school and at home.
The survey encompassed two primary schools, namely Polhov Gradec Primary School and France Bevk Primary School. 6 students from each of the sixth grades participated in the survey and the data was processed for the individual school. A guided group interview, the so-called focus groups, was conducted in individual sixth grades.
The results of the survey show that the majority of students find the food pyramid to be more understandable, because it is more precise. The students labelled the food plate as an incomplete and harder to understand visualisation of healthy eating guidelines. The results are connected with the fact that students are more familiar with the food pyramid, as it is used more often during lessons than the food plate. The students felt that the food plate was more appropriate for younger students who cannot read.
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