Adolescent eating behavior regarding fruit and vegetable intakes

• Autor(a) principal: TORAL, Natacha
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: SLATER, Betzabeth, de Pádua CINTRA, Isa, FISBERG, Mauro
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista de Nutrição
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.puc-campinas.edu.br/nutricao/article/view/9768
• topic: adolescent; adolescent behavior; food consumption; nutritional status; adolescente; comportamento do adolescente; consumo de alimentos; estado nutricional

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the eating behavior using the Transtheoretical Model and thenutritional status of adolescents from technical schools of São Paulo regarding their usual fruit and vegetableintakes. MethodsA questionnaire was used to collect data on the usual fruit and vegetable intakes and to classify the stages ofchange. Weight and height were measured to assess nutrional status using the body mass index. The statisticalanalysis comprised the Student’s T-test, chi-square test, Mann-Whitney test and the HSD-Tukey test, all calculatedusing a significance level of 5%. ResultsLow prevalence of nutritional disorders was observed among the 234 participants: 3.8% were classified as lowweight and 12.4% were overweight. Only 12.4% and 10.3% had usual fruit and vegetable intakes, respectively,as recommended by the Food Guide Pyramid. Approximately one third of the sample was in the precontemplation and maintenance stages. A discrepancy was seen between self-rated food consumption and dietary perception, taking into account that 79.7% and 83.7% of the adolescents had a misperception about their fruit and vegetable intakes, respectively, considering them healthy. ConclusionThe high prevalence of adolescents in the precontemplation stage shows the importance of developingspecific strategies against their resistance to dietary changes. Their misperception related to the characteristicsof a healthy diet and the low fruit and vegetable intakes classify adolescents as a risk group that needs specialattention in order to promote healthy dietary habits and to guarantee quality of life.