Diet and Health in the Perspective of Adolescents: Contributions for Health Promotion

Abstract

Objective: to describe the social representations of healthy eating and to analyze the relationships established with health. Method: an exploratory and descriptive study, with qualitative approach that applied the Social Representations Theory. A semistructured interview was conducted with 31 adolescent students, aged 10 to 13 years, from a municipal school in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) from September to November 2013. The Alceste software was used to analyze the two classes of greater statistical significance. Results: adolescents choose foods with higher fat content, with faster preparation time and more sugar. They care about health, but they prioritize pleasure and taste. They establish a relationship between diet, body weight and health, understanding that fat people are more prone to diseases. Conclusion: healthy eating is conceptualized by what adolescents consider good or bad for their health, but this evaluation is not directly related to their eating practices. The contradictions between knowledge and practice are evidenced in order to guide propositional interventions with this population group.

Insatisfação com a imagem corporal, uso de drogas e fatores associados entre adolescentes em três cidades brasileiras

“…No Brasil, independente da região, é nítido que os hábitos alimentares dos adolescentes, na maioria das vezes, são pautados por comidas gordurosas, preparações rápidas e com açúcar, desconsiderando a importância dos nutrientes (46) .…”

Body dissatisfaction, drug use, and associated factors among adolescents in three Brazilian cities

“…Another important aspect is that eating patterns and physical activity practice are associated with body dissatisfaction as adolescents usually adopt unhealthy diets, and/or do not practice physical activity properly 44 or skip meals 45 . In Brazil, regardless of the region, the eating habits of adolescents mostly involve fatty foods, fast foods, foods with sugar, disregarding the importance of nutrients 46 .…”

Insatisfacción con la imagen corporal, uso de drogas y factores asociados entre adolescentes en tres ciudades brasileñas

“…Otro punto es que los patrones de alimentación y la práctica de actividad física están asociados con la insatisfacción corporal en la medida en que los adolescentes tienen una alimentación poco saludable, y/o no practican adecuadamente actividades físicas (44) , o se saltan las comidas (45) . En Brasil, independientemente de la región, es claro que los hábitos alimentarios de los adolescentes, la mayoría de las veces, se guían por alimentos grasos, de preparación rápida y con azúcar, sin tener en cuenta la importancia de los nutrientes (46) .…”