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The objectives of this study were to estimate sodium intake and to identify the main dietary sources of this nutrient in young people. Cross-sectional study performed in 2685 students from 64 schools and high-schools of Costa Rica. A food frequency survey was applied to study the food and beverage intake habits of the participants. The average daily sodium intake for children and adolescents 7 to 18 years of age was 3214 mg. Around 97% of the students had sodium intakes > 2300 mg per day with significant differences by age subgroup, sex and nutritional status due to excess body weight (p < 0.001). The average sodium density of the diet was 1698 mg sodium/1000kcal, and the average addition of salt to the food was 445 mg of sodium (1.1 grams of salt). Including the amount added to the served food, the average sodium intake for children and adolescents from 7 to 18 years of age increased to 3434 mg and the overall average sodium density increased to 1821 mg of sodium/1000kcal, maintaining significant differences by age subgroups (p < 0.001). These results justify carrying out social marketing campaigns that include educational processes with sense and meaning for children, adolescents and families, in such a way that these groups of the population become motivated to modify gradually their eating habits, such as reducing the use of sauces, seasonings and salt in food preparation and at the table. If the habit of adding salt to the served food is gradually reduced or avoided, the children and adolescents in Costa Rica could decrease the intake of salt per day from 1 to 2 grams. This decrease could be even more effective if youngsters additionally would remove the intake of sauces, contributing in this way to achieve the maximum salt intake recommendation (5 g per day).

This paper is related to the beliefs of the children and their families' obesity. These beliefs are part of the main outcomes of a doctoral thesis, which used the qualitative perspective and ethnographic method. This research was carried out in a public, urban educational center of San José, Costa Rica. The main purpose was to understand in depth the development of the obesity in children. The research considered three contexts: family, school, and community. It is expected that this article offers theoretical and practical contributions to improve the understanding of the development of obesity in elementary school-aged children and the "praxis" of health-educational personnel in the prevention of it by means of the development of appropriate educational interventions.

Background: Sedentary lifestyle in children and adolescents has been associated in multiple investigations with lack of healthy recreation, low academic performance and socialization, drug use and a higher rate of violence. On the other hand, physical activity has been considered a protective factor for the prevention of non-communicable diseases and health promotion. Objective: To determine the association between sedentary or active behaviors and biopsychosocial factors of children and adolescents of Costa Rica. Materials and Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study in a population of 2284 students from 64 educational centers (40 elementary schools and 24 high schools) in Costa Rica in 2016. A total of 1063 elementary students were interviewed and 1221 middle and high school students completed a validated and self-administered questionnaire under the supervision of the researchers. Information was collected on sociodemographic, anthropometric data, dietary, psychosocial factors and on sedentary behavior. Logistic regression models were performed to examine the association between biopsychosocial factors and sedentary or active lifestyles in children. Results: The study points out that more than half of the children and adolescents (52.0%) are sedentary and 64.0% do not follow the recommendations for the use of screen time. Only 44.0% are active and follow the screen time recommended. The characteristics of the children and adolescents who are sedentary and spend too much screen time are related to younger age, male sex, high socioeconomic status, and belong to an extended family structure (p < 0.05

En el marco de la teoría de los intereses constitutivos de saberes de Habermas, las ciencias de la salud no han sido posicionadas, de manera formal en ella para explicar, comprender y transformar sus objetos o fenómenos de estudio a profundidad. Los gremios científicos de las ciencias de la salud han analizado estas ciencias y llevado a cabo los procesos de formación, capacitación y educación continua de su personal con el método científico tradicional del positivismo y han relegado el uso de otros métodos científicos “naturalistas-cualitativos” aportados por las ciencias sociales. El propósito de este ensayo es delinear cuatro aspectos teórico-metodológicos que justifican el uso de métodos mixtos, por lo que se proveen experiencias de investigación con esta metodología. Se concluye que, no es el uso de una técnica particular la que define a una persona investigadora como positivista o interpretativa o sociocrítica, sino que es preciso comprender la existencia de una correlación entre el paradigma y los métodos de investigación cuantitativos y cualitativos y su empleo en una metodología mixta, en aras de estudiar la realidad de forma holista, ya que no es productivo dar preferencia a uno solo de estos estilos de pensamiento y excluir las potencialidades de otros. En consecuencia, lo primordial y necesario es examinar la realidad integralmente, con metodologías pluralistas para potenciar su cambio hacia condiciones de mayor equidad y justicia social.

Resumen. El propósito de este artículo es comprender las creencias sobre alimentación saludable que tiene la comunidad educativa, pues son estas las que rigen las políticas de alimentación en los centros educativos y no los lineamientos técnicos oficiales sobre alimentación escolar, elaborados por el Ministerio de Educación Pública en coordinación con el Ministerio de Salud de Costa Rica. Los hallazgos de este estudio describen las creencias sobre alimentación de los niños y las niñas, expresadas por los miembros del Comité de Salud y Nutrición, el personal docente y el cuerpo administrativo de una escuela, caso de estudio. Asimismo, se presentan las creencias del grupo encargado de cocinar en el comedor estudiantil y de atender la soda, sobre la alimentación que se debe brindar en el comedor estudiantil. Se evidencia que las creencias de la cocinera se constituyen en políticas de alimentación aplicadas en el comedor y en la soda, respecto a la selección de las preparaciones de alimentos y a las porciones que se sirven a los niños y a las niñas, según edad y condición nutricional.Palabras clave. Creencias; comunidad educativa; alimentación saludable; políticas educativas.Abstract. This article reviews cultural beliefs at schools surrounding healthy eating habits, since they govern food policies for school lunch programs instead of scientific guidelines established by the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Education and the Ministry of Health. The findings of this study describe cultural beliefs on child nutrition as stated by the Health and Nutrition Committee, teachers, administrative staff at a school -a case study. In addition, the personal opinion of the cafeteria cook tend to become the schools' policies when selecting and preparing the food served in cafeterias as well as the portions based on age and nutritional condition of the child.Keywords. Belief, educational community, school lunch program, health eating habits, educational policies. IntroducciónCosta Rica ha experimentado en los últimos 45 años un cambio en el perfil epidemiológico del estado nutricional, siendo notorio la reducción de la prevalencia de desnutrición infantil y el incremento en la prevalencia de sobrepeso y obesidad. En el período 1996-2008/09, la prevalencia de delgadez (IMC < 5 percentil) en escolares (5-12 años), se redujo un 75% (16.1% vs 6.1%), sin que aumentara de forma notoria el porcentaje de escolares con estado nutricional normal (Ministerio de Salud, Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud, 1996; Ministerio de Salud, Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud, Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas e Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos, 2010). Para el período de estudio, la prevalencia de escolares con exceso de peso (IMC ≥ 85 percentil) en el 2008/09 aumentó drásticamente, hasta alcanzar un valor que triplicó la prevalencia observada en 1996 (6.1% vs. 21.4%) (Ministerio de Salud et al., 1996;Ministerio de Salud et al.,...