Introduction: School feeding is given particular importance all over the world as a factor ensuring food security and affecting socio­economic welfare and health of children. It is provided through an effective system of organization of school meals, which monitoring and evaluation is always relevant.

Objective: A hygienic assessment of up­to­date organization of school nutrition in the Russian Federation.

Materials and methods: We analyzed monitoring data and results of control and supervisory activities carried out with respect to schools (n = 44,419) and public catering companies (n = 7,473) by the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) in the 2020 to 2021 academic year using methods of descriptive statistics.

Results: We established a rise of the hot meal coverage rate over the past decade up to 91.4 %, reaching 100.0 % among school­children in grades 1­4 in a number of regions. The coverage with hot meals of the schoolchildren requiring special nutrition   due to their health condition equaled 92.7 % in the Russian Federation as a whole. The evaluation of nutritional and biological values of school breakfasts and lunches showed that they generally covered the needs of a growing organism for vitamins A, B, and C, while a deficiency of vitamin D was noted.

Conclusion: The recognized importance of school meals in health maintenance of the general population indicates the necessity of their continuous monitoring, the study of regularities and features of physiology of a child, and supervision of effectiveness of healthy school feeding.

Background: The necessity of close supervision of school nutrition by the Arkhangelsk Regional Office of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) is well justified by high local diet­related disease rates generally exceeding the national averages. Such supervisory measures can be successfully supported by parental control over school meals.

Objectives: Comprehensive assessment of the organization of hot meals for schoolchildren in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (on the example of the Arkhangelsk region) as part of the implementation by Rospotrebnadzor of measures under the federal project “Strengthening public Health”.

Methods: We applied hygienic, sociological, and statistical methods of research; prepared meals were tested for quality and safety using instrumental methods of chemical and microbiological analyses. Parental control and monitoring of school feeding within the framework of the National Demography Project were carried out in compliance with ethical standards.

Results: Laboratory test results showed a five­year decrease in the proportion of prepared meal samples with poor microbiological parameters from 4.0 % to 1.4 % and of those with lower calorie content – from 2.6 % to 1.9 %. The coverage of first to fourth­year schoolchildren with hot school meals increased by 8.5 % and reached 99.5 %, while in fifth to eleventh graders it decreased by 9.2 % to 73.6 %. We revealed that only few pupils had two school meals a day. Rospotrebnadzor officials encouraged and promoted parental control over the quality of school nutrition and instructed parents and students on principles of healthy eating.

Conclusions: The control and supervisory measures carried out indicate a positive dynamics of results in terms of quality and safety of school meals. At the same time, the shortcomings in the organization of nutrition (low coverage of students with two meals a day, reduced coverage of hot meals for older age groups) identified during parental control measures indicate the need for monitoring and rapid response measures to improve the organization of hot meals for schoolchildren in order to prevent diseases caused by the nutritional factor.

Background: Disturbances in the diet and time of eating meals observed in the population in recent years and characterized by a deficiency of the main nutrients and unhealthy eating habits (e.g., addiction to fatty foods, excessive salt and sugar consumption) dictate the necessity of constant monitoring of school meals in order to develop effective measures for prevention of diet­related disorders in children and adolescents.

Objective: Scientific analysis of the results of monitoring qualitative and quantitative indicators of school feeding and the prevalence of nutrition­related diseases in the child population.

Materials and methods: We examined reports and statistical data of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, findings of the surveys of school principals, children and parents, and results of analyzing parental control data for the 2020/21 academic year.

Results: Incidence rates of child and adolescent obesity, diabetes mellitus, and diseases of the circulatory system demonstrate a positive trend. We established the main reasons for high school students’ refusal of school meals, studied satisfaction of children and parents with school feeding, and assessed the results of parental control over school catering. High prevalence of nutrition­related diseases confirms the importance of monitoring school meals, developing innovative forms and revising their dominating stereotypes.

Conclusion: Assessment of diet­related disease rates in schoolchildren updates the significance of their nutrition and health monitoring, the study of nutrition structure, eating behavior, and school catering. The conducted survey of schoolchildren and parents has revealed key problems in school feeding, which require prompt correction. Outcomes of parental control are an additional indicator of nutrition quality at school. The reserve for improving the effectiveness of parental control can become systematization of this work and its evaluation with account for the days of the week and their corresponding menu items, as well as breaks and their corresponding contingents of children eating school meals.

Introduction: One of the main principles of balanced nutrition is the adequate energy value of the diet consistent with the child’s energy expenditures mostly attributed to physical activity. Failure to comply with basic principles of healthy eating leads to developmental disorders and diet­related diseases in children, thus requiring a serious attitude towards nutrition issues and determining the relevance of this study.

Objective: To assess organization and quality of actual nutrition of schoolchildren with account for their physical activity.

Materials and methods: We analyzed data of a questionnaire-based survey of 1,163 schoolchildren (626 girls and 537 boys) carried out during the 2020/21 academic year in five schools of the city of Kazan. Daily energy expenditures and the level of physical activity were assessed using the method developed by the Novosibirsk Research Institute of Hygiene (Invention Patent No. 272262 of July 28, 2020). Statistical data processing was done using STATISTICA 10 and Microsoft Office Excel 2016.

Results: Our findings showed that the observed dietary calcium intake in children aged 7–11 years and 12 years and older was over 60 % lower than the recommended value, that of fluorine and magnesium – 86.5 % and 53.05 %, and 6.8 % and 9.5 % lower than the appropriate recommended values in children of the same age groups, respectively. Phosphorus deficiency in the daily diet of children aged 12 years and older exceeded 25 %. The dietary intake of potassium, iodine, and selenium satisfied physiological requirements for the age groups of children studied. Energy expenditures of the children, including their level of physical activity, basic metabolism, the value of the specific dynamic action of food, and the total value of daily energy expenditures, were estimated using the Internet resource “Assessment of Physical Activities”.

Conclusion: The revealed regional features of malnutrition of schoolchildren confirm the importance of effective monitoring activities and require the development of appropriate preventive measures aimed at promoting commitment to principles and habits of healthy eating in pupils.

Introduction: Healthy nutrition is one of the major components of public health and wellbeing. The structure of nutrition shall satisfy physiological needs of children in macronutrients, vitamins and minerals, and shall contribute to the development of healthy nutrition skills, proper eating habits and behavior. New requirements for school catering have come into force recently. They envisage changes demanding a simultaneous update of technological documentation for activities of catering operators and canteens.

Objective: Improvement of technological documentation in terms of the development of collections of recipes and culinary products as well as typical menus for healthy feeding of children in compliance with the updated requirements.

Materials and methods: The study of disease incidence, intensity of physical activity, and anthropometric parameters of children studying in the Volga Federal District cadet corps was carried out for 2018–2021. Statistical data analysis was performed using standard methods in Statistica 10.0 and Microsoft Excel software packages. The “Nutrition” programming tool was used to develop recipe books and menus.

Results: Assessment of the overall morbidity revealed its negative trend mainly attributed to unhealthy diet and poor eating habits of children. The study of physical activity of the cadets showed high and above optimal levels in the course of training. According to the results of correlation and regression analysis, changes in anthropometric parameters of cadets compared to schoolchildren were attributed to malnutrition inadequate for energy and biological parameters of nutritional value, especially in the age groups of 14–17 years.

Conclusions: Our findings confirmed the relevance of developing technological documentation in terms of collections of recipes and culinary products and standard menus for organization of healthy feeding of children in compliance with modern requirements. The recipes of the developed collection contain information on the weight per serving, energy value, the content of micro­ and macronutrients.

Introduction: The main tool for a systematic assessment of nutrition includes monitoring activities allowing for overall improvement of school meals in addition to identification and elimination of violations of the Russian sanitary and epidemiological legislation and a follow­up of children’s collectives.

Objective: To evaluate the experience of cooperation with schoolchildren’s parents in issues of school feeding in the Tula Region. Methods: The sanitary and descriptive method was used in the assessment of results of inspections, organizational and methodological work on control over school nutrition, interaction with parents, and outcomes of parental control.

Results: The article reviews the experience of cooperation of the public health inspectorate with the parent community to improve school feeding in the Tula Region. Considering a paramount importance of the quality of hot school meals and the expected effectiveness of its parental control, experts of the Regional Office of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) have taken a number of effective outreach measures on healthy nutrition, development of essential practical and theoretical skills and abilities of a healthy lifestyle, proper algorithms in reacting to arising problems in school catering, and coordination of interactions between parent communities.

Conclusion: The implementation of measures that ensure effective cooperation between the supervisory body and the parent community has made a significant contribution to improving the quality of hot school meals in the region.

Introduction: Increasing attention has been paid recently to the issues of school nutrition due to the observed rising trends in the rates of diet­related diseases in children. Today, along with the interdepartmental interaction of government institutions, parents can also be involved in monitoring and resolving problems of school feeding by exercising public control.

Objective: To assess organization of interdepartmental interaction between the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) and regional executive authorities, public organizations, government agencies, and the parent community on issues of school meals.

Materials and methods: We analyzed the results of monitoring and inspections of the Republican Office of Rospotrebnadzor, complaints and appeals on school meals, reports of parental control commissions, and surveys of parents and children on satisfaction with school nutrition (the total of 898 episodes in the 2020/21 academic year and 420 – in September–December, 2021).

Results: We established that all elementary schoolchildren (grades 1–4) received hot school meals while the total coverage was 96.2 % for all students. We also observed a decrease in the number of complaints about school catering in October to December 2020; in December 2020 to March 2021, the republican rating of school meals launched by the Russian Movement of Schoolchildren rose from “Top 10 Bad Taste” to “Top 10 Good Taste” owing to a significant improvement of the menu of school breakfast and lunch that, inter alia, included gradual replacement of confectionery with fruit and sausages with meat dishes.

Conclusion: The combined interdepartmental and parental monitoring of school nutrition has proved its effectiveness in problem detection and its prompt solving.

Introduction: In the light of current challenges, monitoring of school feeding and its parental control should be considered as effective forms of prompt detection and correction of preventable diet­related health risk factors in schoolchildren.

Objective: Methodological elaboration of the regional experience in executing parental control over school catering. Materials and methods: Results of inspections and information about parental control activities were analyzed, the latter including organoleptic evaluation of dishes, filling in a checklist on the quality of nutrition and observed conditions of personal hygiene and eating, a random survey of children on their taste preferences and satisfaction with the range and quality of school food.

Results: In January – May 2021, the Parental Control Project was implemented in 1,260 schools of the Moscow Region involving 49,072 parents of first to fourth graders and 41,364 parents of fifth to eleventh graders. Its analytics was regularly published on the official websites of local departments of education and in social media.

Conclusion: Parental control helps improve the quality of school nutrition, engage the parent community in promotion of a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating, an increase in the general level of hygienic literacy in issues of healthy nutrition, and the succession of home­cooked to school meals.

Introduction: Special attention is traditionally paid to monitoring nutrition in educational establishments as the forms and methods of work keep changing while the circle of participants expands. Parental control may serve as an important reserve for increasing the efficiency of control under the current conditions. Parental involvement in surveillance helps increase personal interest in principles of healthy eating and improve the overall hygienic literacy of inspectors and of those inspected. Objective: To analyze forms of implementing control over school meals.

Materials and methods: Analytical and sociological methods were used to study the issues of providing hot meals for elementary school children, including satisfaction with the quality, quantity, and variety of meals and sufficiency of time to consume them within the survey conducted in the 2020/21 academic year in the city of Murmansk. The survey involved 21,755 school-children, 17,977 parents, and 1,470 teachers. Together with parents, we rejected finished products, discussed the quality of school feeding, held Open Days and Degustation Days, summarizing the results of joint activities on a quarterly basis. Parental control measures were taken in accordance with MR 2.4.0180-20, Parental Control over Catering in General Education Institutions, approved by the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation Anna Yu. Popova on May 18, 2020.

Results: Since 2014, by agreement with school administration, parents and/or legal representatives of schoolchildren have been participating in parental quality control of school meals. Those having a personal health book are allowed to sample from the “common cauldron” and to control organizational activities in the dining room, including the compliance with the requirements of sanitary legislation for school catering. The findings of the sociological survey demonstrated that in 2020, children, parents and teachers were more satisfied with school feeding than in 2019.

Conclusion: The experience of cooperation with parents in controlling school nutrition has proven its effectiveness and timeliness in taking corrective action to regulate logistics issues.

Introduction: Food culture is one of the basic principles of a healthy lifestyle. Malnutrition has numerous adverse health effects, overweight and obesity being the most prevalent ones. Yet, many people find it quite difficult to mind their diet and, in fact, care little about the choice of healthy and safe foodstuffs or healthy cooking techniques. In this respect, fast food poses a certain danger.

The objective of our study was to analyze and evaluate nutritional practices of representatives of different socio­demographic groups of Russian people and to establish the reasons for the lack of healthy eating habits.

Methods: Within the framework of the research, an all­Russian sociological survey was conducted using the method of an in­home personal interview. The survey was conducted from April 8 to 19, 2021 in 30 regions of Russia. The sample size was 1,500 people aged 18 years and older.

Results: Rational nutrition has not yet become a daily practice for many Russians. The fast pace of life and busyness of the population are an obstacle to meal consumption regularity. Still, many respondents report a lack of healthy eating habits. The main criteria for choosing a food product include its price, quality, taste, and health benefit. At the same time, the price has recently become a stronger determinant, especially for low­income and retired citizens. Fast food restaurant chains help save time and money spent on meals and become increasingly popular among Russians.

Conclusion: It is expedient to stimulate the interest of the population in issues of a healthy diet in terms of the quantitative and qualitative food composition and to encourage the habit of eating regular meals. This is especially relevant for young people, who are often very careless about their health.

Introduction: Proper, healthy and safe school nutrition is an important factor in maintaining health and physical growth of a child from a medical point of view, which, in the long run, determines health of the future generations. High­quality food raw materials, a modern material and technical base, qualified personnel, and promotion of healthy eating among schoolchildren and their parents are crucial for successful school feeding.

Objective: To analyze the experience and effectiveness of cooperation between the Office of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) in the Republic of Tatarstan, executive authorities and parents to improve school nutrition in the 2020/21 academic year.

Materials and methods: The analytical method was used to assess the effectiveness of interdepartmental interaction when carrying out the order to ensure provision of free hot school meals to pupils in grades 1–4 (aged 7–11 years) in the Republic of Tatarstan.

Results: Well­coordinated effective actions were implemented in the republic in 2020–2021 to organize free hot meals for elementary school children. They consisted of planned improvement of school catering units, elaboration and introduction of unified menus, including those for children with special dietary needs. Regular inspections of school catering helped improve its quality and enhance responsibility of officials in charge. The experience gained can be applied in other constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Conclusion: Thanks to the close cooperation of executive authorities of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Rospotrebnadzor Office in the Republic of Tatarstan, and the parental community, effective work has been carried out to organize provision of free hot school meals to first to fourth graders since September 1, 2020. All the improvements shall contribute to prevention of diet­related diseases in schoolchildren.