Qualidade da dieta de pré‐escolares de 2 a 5 anos residentes na área urbana da cidade de Pelotas, RS

Abstract

Objective:To assess the dietary quality of preschool children in the urban area of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil.Methods:Dietary quality was measured according to the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), adapted to Brazil. Food consumption was obtained using the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). The index score was obtained by a score, ranging from 0 to 100, distributed in 13 food groups that characterize different components of a healthy diet. The better the quality of the diet, the closer the score is to 100.Results:Dietary quality was evaluated in 556 preschoolers. The mean HEI score value was 74.4 points, indicating that diets need improvement. The mean scores were significantly higher among girls and in children from families with income between one and less than three minimum wages.Conclusions:The children showed vegetable consumption below the recommended level, while foods of the food group of oils and fats, as well as the group of sugars, candies, chocolates and snacks, were consumed in excess. It is important to reinforce guidelines to promote healthier eating habits, which may persist later in life.

Índice de Alimentação Saudável: adaptação para crianças de 1 a 2 anos

“…In the dietary quality analysis, the mean HEI score was lower than 80, indicating a need for dietary improvements. This value was similar to that found by other authors in national studies 9,10,26 and international studies 6,27 in which the mean HEI values ranged from 73.9 to 75.7 points, thus indicating that the dietary quality of the children in those studies also needed improvement. The dietary quality classification indicated a higher percentage of children with healthy diets than that found in other studies.…”

Nutritional quality of snacks for preschoolers recommended on the internet

“…Leal et al 23 obtained similar results in a random sample of children living in Pelotas (RS). Only 45.7% of the participants met the recommendation advocated by the Healthy Eating Index for vegetables and legumes; 100% were excessively consuming foods belonging to the oils and fats category; 99.6% were consuming more than one serving of food from the sugars, candies, chocolates, and salty snacks group.…”

“…Insufficient consumption of vegetables and legumes compromises micronutrient and fiber intake. The latter promotes satiation, promotes intestinal trophism, and its chewing prevents the formation of bacterial plaques and cavities 22,23 .…”

“…The frequent consumption of soft drinks, artificial juices, and other sugary drinks is associated with a decrease in the intake of natural juices and caloric increase in the diet, contributing to weight gain and its consequences. 1 In the same sense, the frequent consumption of fried foods, sweets, and cookies, produces an increase in the energy density of the meals 23 .…”

Alimentação em unidades de educação infantil: planejamento, processo produtivo, distribuição e adequação da refeição principal

“…Este mineral é de extrema importância, pois se encontra presente nos ossos, tecidos moles, músculos e fluidos corpóreos atuando como cofator em mais de 300 sistemas enzimáticos. 27 Também foram analisadas as adequações de Vitaminas A e C, sendo que, para ambas, os cardápios planejados apresentaram maiores percentuais de adequação, exceto para faixa etária de quatro a cinco anos no que diz respeito à vitamina C. Já os cardápios produzidos demonstraram adequação apenas para o teor de vitamina C na faixa etária de um a três anos em pré-escolares pertencentes ao turno parcial. Em contrapartida Abranches et al 22 ao analisar a composição nutricional da merenda em creches privadas e públicas, encontrou valores adequados para a vitamina C. Os resultados referentes ao valor energético mostraram-se adequados apenas para os cardá-pios planejados e produzidos para pré-escolares pertencentes ao período integral enquadrados na faixa etária de um a três anos.…”