title: Association between nutritional status, food habits and physical activity level in schoolchildren.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the relation between nutritional status, food habits and physical activity level in schoolchildren.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was carried out with 661 schoolchildren, from 6 to 14 years old, enrolled in public and private schools located in the urban area of Ouro Preto, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A semi-structured questionnaire was applied to collect data on demographic, socio-economic, anthropometric and level of physical activity variables. Schoolchildren were classified according to criteria for body mass index by age, body fat percentage and physical activity level, respectively. Dietary data were collected through a validated food frequency questionnaire specific for children and adolescents. Food consumption was evaluated according to an adaptation of the Recommended Foods Score, whose objective is the assessment of overall diet quality with a focus on healthy food consumption.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed high frequency of overweight according to body mass index per age (20.1%) and body fat percentage (22.8%), as well as physical inactivity (80.3%) among schoolchildren. We also found low scores on the Recommended Foods Score in 77.2% of students. There was no significant relation between overweight and physical inactivity or food consumption (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Schoolchildren had a high frequency of overweight, which, alone, was not associated with the high physical inactivity and the low quality diet observed. Therefore, more studies should be performed to identify other factors besides those already described, which may be influencing overweight in this population.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP), Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil. lorene.coelho@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Lorene G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Coelho
authors.forename: Ana Paula C
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Cândido
authors.forename: George L L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Machado-Coelho
authors.forename: Silvia N de
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Freitas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D017149:Private Sector; D017150:Public Sector; D012574:Schools; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population