Perception of eating practices and stages of change among Brazilian adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the perception of eating practices and the stages of change among adolescents.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study involving a representative sample of 390 adolescents from 11 public schools in the city of Piracicaba, Brazil, in 2004. Food consumption was identified by a food frequency questionnaire and the perception of eating practices evaluation was conducted by comparing food consumption and individual classification of healthy aspects of the diet. The participants were classified within stages of change by means of a specific algorithm. A reclassification within new stages of change was proposed to identify adolescents with similar characteristics regarding food consumption and perception.


RESULTS
Low consumption of fruit and vegetables and high consumption of sweets and fats were identified. More than 44% of the adolescents had a mistaken perception of their diet. A significant relationship between the stages of change and food consumption was observed. The reclassification among stages of change, through including the pseudo-maintenance and non-reflective action stages was necessary, considering the high proportion of adolescents who erroneously classified their diets as healthy.


CONCLUSIONS
Classification of the adolescents into stages of change, together with consumption and perception data, enabled identification of groups at risk, in accordance with their inadequate dietary habits and non-recognition of such habits.
Toral
Natacha
N
Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. natytb@usp.br
Slater
Betzabeth
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D041923:Adolescent Development; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology*; D004041:Dietary Fats; D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D014675:Vegetables
D004041:Dietary Fats; D019422:Dietary Sucrose