[Frequency of food intake by adolescent schoolchildren in Cantabria, Spain. Comparison with the consensus document: Food Guidelines for the Spanish Population].
OBJECTIVE
To analyze food consumption patterns among schoolchildren in Cantabria and to compare results obtained with Spanish food guidelines for this population group.


METHODS
A food frequency questionnaire was the chosen method, with some 53 food types divided into 15 groups. A total of 1,205 teenagers of both sexes aged between 14 and 18 attending 18 secondary schools in Cantabria completed the questionnaire.


RESULTS
Milk, bread, fruit, greens and vegetables are the foodstuffs mostly consumed at the recommended frequencies. On the other hand, fish, meat, eggs, dairy products and pulse make up the least adequately consumed categories. Alcoholic drinks are imbibed to a high degree, with beer being the alcoholic most frequently drunk. Spirits are also drunk in larger quantities than wine. Alcohol consumption (beer, wines and spirits) increases significantly with age, being higher among males than females.


CONCLUSIONS
Cantabrian schoolchildren follow a food consumption pattern which, generally speaking, does not tally with Spanish food recommendations for their age group. Educational and interventional strategies need to be developed with the aim of modifying such inappropriate food consumption.
de Rufino
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PM
Instituto de Educación Secundaria "Cantabria", Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Santander, España.
Muñoz
P
P
Gómez
E
E
D000293:Adolescent; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004435:Eating; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires