[Food consumption and eating behavior among Brazilian adolescents: National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE), 2009].
The objective of this article is to describe the characteristics of food consumption and eating behavior of adolescents and its association with socio-demographic factors. In 2009, a random sample of students in 9th grade of elementary education at public and private schools from 26 Brazilian state capitals and Federal District was studied. It was applied a self-administered questionnaire with socio-demographic attributes, food consumption and eating behavior, among others. Estimates of the constructed indicators were presented for the total population and by sex. The association of each indicator with socio-demographic variables was examined by logistic regression. The results showed that over half of adolescents presented frequent consumption of beans (62.6%), milk (53.6%) and sweets (50.9%), and held at least lunch or dinner with the mother or responsible (62.6%) and watching television or studying (50.9%). In general, girls were more exposed to undesirable eating habits and higher socioeconomic status was associated with a higher prevalence of the indicators studied. The results revealed regular consumption of unhealthy diet markers and consumption of less than the recommended for a healthy diet, pointing the need for strengthening health promotion activities targeting young people.
Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP. rlevy@usp.br
Renata Bertazzi
RB
Levy
Inês Rugani Ribeiro de
IR
Castro
Letícia de Oliveira
Lde O
Cardoso
Letícia Ferreira
LF
Tavares
Luciana Monteiro Vasconcelos
LM
Sardinha
Fabio da Silva
Fda S
Gomes
André Wallace Nery da
AW
Costa
D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil; D004435:Eating; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors