Estado nutricional e preferência alimentar de escolares da zona rural comparados com a zona urbana de Itaqui/ RS

Abstract

Proper nutrition is of utmost importance for the growth and development of a healthy individual. The dietary habits of children have been changing over the years, this change is characterized by the increase of ultra-processed foods, and by the decrease of the consumption of vegetables and fruits. The socioeconomic situation of the population also influences food, in countries and development there is a difference in the food choice between rural and urban inhabitants of the municipalities. The high prevalence of childhood obesity is worrying, since nutritional diversion can lead to several short- and long-term diseases for these children. Thus, the objective of this study was to describe and compare nutritional status and food preference among rural and urban schoolchildren in the municipality of Itaqui / RS. The study was applied to schoolchildren from 7 to 16 years old, of both sexes, in public schools in the urban area and in the rural area of Itaqui / RS. Data collection was carried out at the school itself, through basic questionnaires and food frequency. A play activity was developed on children's food choice and weight and height assessment for nutritional status classification. The parametric data were expressed as mean. For the analyzes, a significance level of 5% (p <0.05) and a 95% confidence interval were considered. The data were analyzed with the statistical program SPSS version 22. Through this, it was observed that the majority of the students presented nutritional status of adequacy, however with many cases of overweight that can evolve to obesity in the future. It was identified that the preference and the food consumption in the urban zone has a higher prevalence of industrialized foods, high caloric and poor in nutritional value, and low consumption of fruits, vegetables and vegetables when compared to the rural zone. In view of these findings, it is evident that an inadequate diet in children and adolescents, opens the door to the possibility of the development of several types of diseases that will spread during adult life.