Food consumption, physical activity level and sedentary behavior in schoolchildren

Abstract

Dietary intake inquiry, physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) surveys are practical tools for identifying habits among the pediatric population; however, the results of describing these behaviors appear to be restricted to large centers. The objective was to analyze dietary intake, PA and SB level in schoolchildren. Children from 6 to 10 years old, coming from public and private schools were evaluated for anthropometry, dietary pattern, PA and SB level. A total of 1408 children (48.1% male) with a mean age of 8.05 (± 1.53) years participated in the study. Only 4.6%, 4.9% and 17.2% of children met the recommendations for fruit, milk and dairy products, respectively. 40.4% and 59.5% of the children did not meet the recommendation for soft drinks and meat consumption, respectively. More than 75% of children met the recommendation for the consumption of packaged snacks, candies and beans. There was a difference between genders only for candy consumption (p=0.003), with a higher proportion of boys meeting the recommendations. Approximately half and one third of the children complied with the recommendations for moderate to vigorous PA and SB, respectively. Risk behaviors for cardiovascular disease were observed in children, characterized by low consumption of fruits and vegetables, low levels of PA and excessive time in SB.