Degree of Adherence to Existing Dietary and Lifestyle Guidelines among Secondary and High Schoolchildren.

Background: Poor dietary patterns pose a significant health challenge for children, hindering their ideal growth and development. Objective: We explored the adherence of secondary and high schoolchildren to healthy dietary guidelines in the Kurdistan Region. Subjects and Methods: We included a random sample of 554 students (13–18 years) from the available high schools in Duhok City in 2022. Results: Generally, students had a low level of healthy diet, which was not significantly influenced by sociodemographic and diet-related characteristics. A notable number of students skipped breakfast (32.31%). A majority of students consumed fruits 1–6 times/day (40.97%), whereas their vegetable intake was predominantly <1 serving/day (39.71%) or 1–2 servings/day (31.41%). The consumption of fish and seafood was relatively low among the students, with only 1–2 servings/week (36.28%). The students had a high rate of consuming sweets and soft drinks, with 1–2 servings/week being prevalent (25.99% for sweets and 36.10% for soft drinks). Media watching duration was notably high, with 1–2 h/day (23.10%) and over 4 h/day (35.38%). Only 19.86% of the students engaged in mild-to-moderate physical activity. The consumption of dairy products, both milk and dairy alternatives, was at 1–2 servings/day, with more than half opting for low- or no-fat options (25.09%). A considerable percentage of students consumed meat and meat products at varying frequencies. Close to half of the students consumed 3–7 servings of total grains/day and >50 whole grains. Conclusions: Schoolchildren have a low adherence to healthy dietary guidelines in Kurdistan Region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]