The assessment of nutritional status and food consumption of preschool and school children in Caetés-PE

Abstract

Introduction: Nutrition status assessment is the primary tool for identifying nutritional disorders in all life cycles. Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status, food consumption and socioeconomic status of children who attending the public school system in the municipality of Caetés-PE. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive research with quantitative approach of transversal character. For the diagnosis of nutritional status, the anthropometric measures were collected through electronic scales and stadiometer, and the classification was performed according to the new growth curves for the population, proposed by the World Health Organization. To analyze food consumption and socioeconomic profile it was used two questionnaires. Results: It was evaluated 106 children, of whom 64.15% were preschoolers and the others were school ages. The prevalence of eutrophy corresponded to 82%, followed by overweight with 14% and thinness with 4% of the total sample. The majority of the children presented low intake of fruits, vegetables, vegetables, viscera, milk and derivatives. The analysis of the socioeconomic profile pointed a context of social vulnerability, due to the large number of responsible with low schooling and unemployed. Discussion: Despite the prevalence of eutrophication, the number of overweight children affected by food insecurity is worrisome due to the socioeconomic level. Conclusion: There was a relevant association between physical inactivity, the low quality of the diet and the high index of overweight. Therefore, it is necessary to promote strategies that eliminate the obesogenic factors found, since these favor the emergence of clinical and nutritional disorders.