EFFECTIVENESS OF AN EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION TO REDUCE THE CONSUMPTION OF HIGH-CALORIE FOODS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN IN TERESINA, PIAUÍ (BRAZIL).
BACKGROUND
there is high prevalence of overweight and poor food habits among adolescents, and these factors contribute to the development of chronic diseases.


OBJECTIVE
the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention designed to reduce the consumption of high-calorie foods in public school children in Teresina, Piaui, Brazil.


METHODS
quasi-experimental, randomized, quantitative intervention study involving adolescents (n = 126) of both sexes aged 10-14 years. An educational intervention, which involved 9 weekly meetings, was developed. A questionnaire was completed prior and subsequent to the intervention. Associations between variables were examined using a chi-square test (x2).


CONCLUSIONS
there was a significant reduction in the consumption of soft drinks and processed juices subsequent to the educational intervention (p = 0.007). It has further reduction in weekly consumption of food like meat and sausage (p = 0.072). Adolescents' weekly consumption of fried foods and potato chips also decreased significantly subsequent to the educational intervention (p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
the food and nutrition educational program was efficacious in reducing the adolescents' intake of high-calorie food and drinks and contributed to an improvement in the quality of food consumed by the schoolchildren evaluated.
Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina (Piauí).. marizesantos@ufpi.edu.br.
Marize
M
Melo dos Santos
Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina (Piauí).. van_passos_oliveira@hotmail.com.
Vanessa
V
Passos Oliveira
Postgraduate Program in Food and Nutrition, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí (Brazil).. sulima@ufpi.edu.br.
Sueli Maria
SM
Teixeira Lima
Postgraduate Program in Food and Nutrition, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí (Brazil).. kyriajayanne@hotmail.com.
Kyria Jayanne
KJ
Clímaco Cruz
Postgraduate Program in Food and Nutrition, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí (Brazil).. ana_luizamo@hotmail.com.
Ana Raquel
AR
Soares de Oliveira
Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina (Piauí).. ju_ssevero@hotmail.com.
Juliana
J
Soares Severo
D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students