Association between nutritional status, food habits and physical activity level in schoolchildren.
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Date
2012
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Abstract
Objective: To analyze the relation between nutritional status, food habits and physical activity level in
schoolchildren.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 661 schoolchildren, from 6 to 14 years old, enrolled
in public and private schools located in the urban area of Ouro Preto, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A semistructured
questionnaire was applied to collect data on demographic, socio-economic, anthropometric and level
of physical activity variables. Schoolchildren were classified according to criteria for body mass index by age,
body fat percentage and physical activity level, respectively. Dietary data were collected through a validated food
frequency questionnaire specific for children and adolescents. Food consumption was evaluated according to an
adaptation of the Recommended Foods Score, whose objective is the assessment of overall diet quality with a
focus on healthy food consumption.
Results: We observed high frequency of overweight according to body mass index per age (20.1%) and body
fat percentage (22.8%), as well as physical inactivity (80.3%) among schoolchildren. We also found low scores
on the Recommended Foods Score in 77.2% of students. There was no significant relation between overweight
and physical inactivity or food consumption (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Schoolchildren had a high frequency of overweight, which, alone, was not associated with the
high physical inactivity and the low quality diet observed. Therefore, more studies should be performed to identify
other factors besides those already described, which may be influencing overweight in this population.
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Keywords
Overweight, Obesity, Food habits, Child, Adolescent
Citation
COELHO, L. G. et al. Association between nutritional status, food habits and physical activity level in schoolchildren. Jornal de Pediatria, v. 88, n. 5, p. 406-412, 2012. Disponível em: <http://www.scielo.br/pdf/jped/v88n5/en_v88n05a09.pdf>. Acesso em: 21 out. 2015.