Formation of ideas about rational nutrition as an element of student’s environmental education

The aim of the work was to form ideas about rational nutrition as an element of ecological education of students by studying and discussing their eating behavior in relation to foods rich in vitamin D using quantitative descriptor-profile analysis. Quantitative descriptor-profile analysis showed that the “poorest” profiles have foods with the highest vitamin D. Thus, foods with a high vitamin D content do not fall into the circle of students’ dietary preferences. The results of the survey showed that the most frequently consumed foods for young people are fried potatoes, pizza, dumplings and cheese. Products such as cheese, butter, artificial red caviar, mushrooms (chanterelles) can be successfully used as a base for fortification with vitamin D, since they are positively perceived by students and affordable. It was shown that cheese is the only product that, when surveyed by 59 young people, was included both in the list of 5 most favorite and frequently consumed foods, and was selected from the list of 22 foods offered to the respondents containing significant amounts of vitamin D. The research carried out is the basis for forming students’ understanding of the importance of a balanced diet in the context of environmental education

Evaluation of the Intake of Vitamin D in Daily Food Rations by Students

Over the past two years, a significant number of studies and statistical reports have appeared that prove the relationship between the level of vitamin D in the body and the severity of COVID-19. The main sources of vitamin D in the human body are food and sunlight. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the intake of vitamin D in daily food rations by the students. As an applied aspect, consider the effect of the frequency of consumption of vitamin D-containing foods on the occurrence of symptoms of allergic diseases. The study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey of students from two universities in the city Kharkiv (Ukraine). The data collection was carried out by a conducting questionnaire with three sections: frequency of consumption for 22 vitamin D-containing foods, identification of allergic symptoms, and an estimate of the average duration of exposure time to sunlight by season. The survey suggests that the rations of students are poor for consuming products vitamin D-containing foods. The classification of these products was carried out using statistical analysis of data and chemometric techniques. There was a lack of consumption of vitamin D-containing foods and a critical time spent in sunlight, regardless of the season. At the same time, a positive correlation between the presence of vitamin D deficiency in young people and a high percentage of respondents with symptoms of allergic diseases was obtained