Eating habits and knowledge in adolescents

Abstract

Introduction: currently unhealthy diets cause health problems among the population. Therefore, it is necessary to apply an adequate dietary habit for a healthy life and thus reduce the risk of diseases in the future. Objective: to analyze the dietary habits and knowledge of adolescents between 14 and 17 years of age, identifying the risk factors that may affect the health and well-being of the population studied. Method: a quantitative approach methodology with descriptive scope was applied. A dietary questionnaire on eating habits, eating behavior and nutritional knowledge was applied. Results: when analyzing the sample, risk factors that may affect the nutritional health of the studied population were identified, where most of the students have notions about these practices. Most of them have reliable knowledge about food consumption frequency and variety. However, the dimensions that evidenced lower reliability corresponded to food knowledge in adolescents Conclusions: the results obtained in the present research, allow us to conclude that the adolescents who made up the sample of this research possess reliable knowledge about the variables self-efficacy, frequency in food consumption, eating habits, knowledge of nutrition and food safety and behavior in hygiene practices, which indicates that most students possess notions about these practices, which can serve as protection.