Consumo de alimentos industrializados e estado nutricional de escolares.

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the consumption of processed and ultraprocessed foods and their relation with the nutritional status of schoolchildren. This is a quantitative research with descriptive cross-sectional observational design. Food intake was assessed using an adapted food frequency questionnaire. To assess nutritional status, BMI was used. After the data were obtained, they were tabulated and statistically analyzed by the IBM SPSS version 20 software. Chi-square, Student's t test, Mann- Whitney nonparametric test, Kruskal-Wallis non parametric test and Spearman's non-parametric correlation coefficient test. The sample consisted of 51 schoolchildren, with an average age of 8.41+ - 1.60 years, enrolled in a primary school located in the city of Sobradinho-RS. Of these, 51% were boys. Some correlations were found between the consumption of certain foods, such as snacks and filled biscuits, and soft drinks, artificial juices and sweets, but the tests did not show a significant relationship between the consumption of processed foods and the nutritional status of the students, not indicating that overweight or obese children consumed industrialized foods more frequently.