Consumo alimentar de adolescentes: classificação segundo o Guia Alimentar para a População Brasileira e sua associação com variáveis demográficas e socioeconômicas

Abstract

High consumption of soft drinks, sweets and fast food snacks, associated with low consumption of fresh or minimally processed foods among adolescents can contribute to future health problems such as overweight, chronic non-communicable diseases and eating disorders. Knowing the factors associated with this food intake is important for the development of better targeted coping strategies. The objective of this study was to classify the food intake of adolescents according to the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population and to verify its association with demographic and socioeconomic variables. A sample of 223 adolescents, enrolled in municipal schools in Itaqui/RS, answered a questionnaire containing demographic, socioeconomic information and weekly consumption frequency from a list of 36 food items. The choice of these foods was based on the examples cited in the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population for each processing category, namely: fresh, minimally processed, processed and ultra-processed. Statistical analyzes were performed using Stata 12.1 software. Categorical variables were expressed as numbers and proportions and bivariate analyzes were performed considering food consumption as a continuous variable, expressed as the mean ± SD of the weekly consumption frequency of each food, and demographic and socioeconomic variables as dichotomous variables. For variables with normal distribution, the t-test was performed, and for those with nonparametric distribution, the non-parametric t-test was performed. The level of statistical significance adopted was 5% and 95% confidence interval. The studied sample reveals a high regular consumption of staple foods of Brazilian culture (rice, coffee / tea and legumes), but there is a low regular consumption of other important fresh / minimally processed foods, such as fruits, milk and dairy products. Among the processed foods, it is observed that bakery products presented the highest frequency of regular consumption and, among the investigated ultra-processed foods, it was observed that soft drinks, box juices, powder, bottle or tin and industrialized breads / bakery products had the highest frequencies of regular consumption. Regarding gender, boys have higher average frequencies of consumption of fresh fruits, eggs, vegetables, breads and home-baked breads, soft drinks and ultra-processed yoghurt / dairy drinks. Girls, on the other hand, eat treats more often. The consumption of minimally processed pasta is higher among adolescents who reported being in a relationship, while working adolescents have a higher frequency of eating fresh fruits than those who do not work. Regarding the socioeconomic situation, there were higher frequencies of consumption of fresh fruits, eggs and cheese among adolescents categorized in socioeconomic classes A-B than those belonging to classes C-D-E.