Padrões de consumo e comportamento alimentar em escolares do 1º ano das escolas municipais de ensino fundamental de São Leopoldo, RS

Abstract

Diet has been identified as an important component in the health-disease process, in different life cycles, and the investigation of dietary patterns allows us to understand this relationship. The identification of patterns a posteriori, generally, uses statistical methods based on the assumption that individuals are organized in sets of exact character of belonging. But individuals do not always fully belong to a set of characteristics. The Grade of Membership (GoM) is a statistical method in which the individual can present degrees of belonging to multiple groups, being a good alternative in identifying dietary patterns. The main objective of this study was to identify consumption patterns and eating behaviors in 1st grade students enrolled in Municipal Elementary Schools in São Leopoldo, RS, using the GoM method. This is a cross-sectional, school-based study with 793 students. Data were obtained through a standardized, pre-coded and pre-tested questionnaire, applied to the mothers or guardians. Socio-demographic, consumption, eating habits and behavior data were collected, as well as information on the number of hours of sleep, sedentary behavior and nutritional status. Consumption profiles and eating behaviors were generated using the GoM multivariate methodology, using internal variables, used directly in the conformation of the profiles, and external variables, used for their stratification. Akaike's information criterion was used to determine the number of extreme profiles. Four consumption profiles and eating behaviors were identified. Profile 4 was the most prevalent (28.7%), followed by profiles 2, 1 and 3 (respectively, 26.0%, 23.4% and 21.9%). Two profiles were more clearly defined as healthy pattern (profile 1) and unhealthy pattern (profile 3). Profile 1 was characterized by: frequent consumption of vegetables and fruits; infrequent consumption of sausages, cookies, sweets and sugary drinks; eating 5 meals/day and having breakfast and not eating in front of the television, computer or video game. Profile 3 was marked by less frequent consumption of healthy foods, frequent consumption of cookies and by not having 5 meals/day and breakfast. Profiles 2 and 4 showed characteristics of both healthy and unhealthy patterns. The results found reinforce the need to design and implement interventions to promote adequate eating habits aimed at schoolchildren. These strategies must be of an intersectoral nature, covering the entire community, schools and families. In addition to investigating the frequency of food consumption, the relevance of including data on eating habits and behaviors that influence the conformation of the child's eating pattern is perceived.