Estado nutricional e frequência de consumo de alimentos ricos em sódio por escolares.

Abstract

Introduction: Nutrition is of extreme importance in the first years of life, for a good development the child needs energy and adequate food sources, in addition to that, in this age group acquired eating habits, can persist in adult life. Objective: To verify the nutritional status and frequency of consumption of sodium-rich foods by schoolchildren. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study, carried out with schoolchildren enrolled in the 4th and 5th year of elementary education at the state school of basic education in Encruzilhada do Sul / RS. A food frequency questionnaire was applied with sodium source foods, and weight / height and abdominal circumference were checked for nutritional status by Body Mass Index for age and cardiovascular risk, respectively. Data analysis was descriptive. Results: The sample consisted of 23 students, with a mean age of 10.69 years, being 65.21% female. It was observed that 78.26% were eutrophic, and 73.91% had no cardiovascular risk. In the analysis of the frequency of food consumption of sodium sources by the evaluated students, it can be observed that the frequency "never" prevailed for all evaluated foods. Conclusion: We concluded that most schoolchildren were eutrophic and had low cardiovascular risk. And there was no regular consumption of sodium-rich foods by most schoolchildren.