Factors Associated with the Consumption of Food Markers of Unhealthy Diet Among School Children in Situations of High Health Vulnerability

Cross-sectional study that aimed to investigate the factors associated with the consumption of food markers of unhealthy diet among school children with high health vulnerability in public schools of a Brazilian capital. Unhealthy food consumption was investigated through a simplified Food Frequency Questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression was performed, considering excessive consumption of unhealthy foods as an outcome. A total of 299 students were evaluated, with a mean age of 11.0 ± 2.4 years, 54.8% female and 20.2% overweight. Excessive consumption of unhealthy foods was observed in 46.2% of the sampled population. The chance of excessive consumption of unhealthy foods was greater among school children who skip breakfast (OR = 2.80; 95% CI 1.38-6.48); and those who habitually eat in front of the screen (OR = 2.99; 95% CI 1.11-7.06). These findings can guide interventions to promote healthy habits among school children with high health vulnerability, preventing lifelong excess weight.

Validity of the factorial structure of the Brazilian version scale of the Food Choice Questionnaire

This study examines the dimensional structure and reliability of the 36-item Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) in a Brazilian Portuguese version, an instrument used to measure the importance of motives behind food choices. The sample includes 502 adults. Confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA) were used to evaluate the configural (dimensionality) and metric (magnitude of factorial loadings, residual correlations and factorial discriminatory validity) structures of the instrument. Internal consistency evaluation used the Omega coefficient (Ω); temporal reproducibility used the Kappa coefficient with quadratic weighting (κ) in a separate sample of 41 subjects. The final CFA corroborates the 9-factor original structure and shows high factorial loadings (λi > 0.80 in 34 items); two residual correlations (r(i2-i3) = 0.773 and r(i16 i17) = 0.853); and factorial correlations indicating factor discriminant validity (φ < 0.80). Regarding reliability, there is adequate internal consistency (Ω = 0.877 to 0.968), and good test-retest reproducibility indicating temporal stability (κ = 0.768 to 0.917). It can be concluded that the FCQ version has good configural and metric properties, and may be recommended for use in Brazil in its present form.

Influence of parents' behavior during the meal and on overweight in childhood

Abstract Objective: To assess the influence of parents' behavior during meals and on the overweight in childhood. Methods: Cross-sectional and analytical study, with a quantitative approach, performed with children aged between 12 and 59 months, belonging to the enrolled population of a Family Health Strategy team, in Montes Claros (MG). In order to collect data, it was used a questionnaire with sociodemographic variables related to food consumption and family influence over the eating habits. The anthropometric parameters of weight and height were assessed. We used the Student's t-test (p < 0.05) to compare the averages of the eating behavior of parents and the overweight in childhood. Results: 115 children participated. The overweight in childhood was statistically related to the behavior of parents during meals in the domains "model of sweets consumption" and "special meals". Conclusion: The family environment is associated with the formation of eating habits and the overweight in childhood.

Influência de intervenções educativas no conhecimento sobre alimentação e nutrição de adolescentes de uma escola pública

Resumo Os hábitos alimentares de adolescentes têm sido marcados pelo alto consumo de alimentos ricos em gorduras, sódio e açúcares simples que, somados ao sedentarismo, estão diretamente relacionados com a incidência de obesidade entre outras doenças crônicas não transmissíveis tanto nesta faixa etária como na vida adulta. Este cenário reforça a urgência de se adotar programas de educação alimentar e nutricional (EAN). Sabendo-se disso, o objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar o hábito alimentar e sequencialmente avaliar o grau de conhecimento sobre alimentação e nutrição de adolescentes, intervir com EAN, aplicando dois recursos pedagógicos distintos (palestra e jogo do tipo quiz) e comparar a eficácia de ambos no processo educativo. Participaram do estudo 59 adolescentes entre 13 e 16 anos, matriculados em duas turmas da oitava série de uma escola municipal do município de Lavras – Minas Gerais. Os resultados indicaram prevalência de padrão alimentar inadequado evidenciando o consumo elevado de alimentos ricos em gorduras e açúcares simples. Tanto a aplicação do jogo como a palestra se mostraram eficientes para aumentar o grau de conhecimento dos adolescentes e, quando comparados, os métodos não mostraram diferença significativa entre si.

Analysis of food advertisements on cable television directed to children based on the food guide for the Brazilian population and current legislation

ABSTRACT Objective: This study examined food product advertisements directed to children and aired on closed television channels in Brazil, according to the types of foods and beverages advertised and the advertising content. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted on the adequacy of food commercials directed to children and aired by six pay-television broadcasters according to two parameters: "The Food Guide for the Brazilian Population, 2014", and the National Council on Children's and Adolescents' Rights Resolution nº 163 of 2014 about food advertising. The advertisements were recorded in July 2015, at different times and days of the week. Results: One hundred and sixty-two hours were recorded, registering 3,468 commercials: 1,850 were related to internal programming and 1,618 advertised toys (22.15%), food and beverages (5.61%), applications for electronic devices (5.58%), and entertainment/events (5.56%). The Fisher exact test showed fewer number of food commercials compared to other types of commercials (p<0.001). The main food items advertised by all television stations were ultraprocessed foods and no advertisements of fresh food were observed (p<0.001). Most of the food commercials (64.30%) used children's language and characters; 43.00% used songs in children's voices, and 21.40% linked gift distribution to food. Conclusion: The number of food commercials observed was lower than in previous national studies. However, the advertisements did not follow current legislation, indicating the abuse of marketing communication to children. More effective public policies and the respect and enforcement of legislation on child advertising could protect children from high consumption of ultraprocessed foods.

Tradução e adaptação cultural do questionário sobre motivo das escolhas alimentares (Food Choice Questionnaire – FCQ) para a língua portuguesa

ResumoO Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) avalia a importância atribuída pelos indivíduos a nove fatores relacionados às escolhas alimentares: saúde, humor, conveniência, apelo sensorial, conteúdo natural, preço, controle de peso, familiaridade e preocupação ética. O estudo objetivou descrever o processo de tradução e adaptação cultural do FCQ para a língua portuguesa e avaliar sua aplicabilidade com as seguintes etapas: traduções independentes, obtenção do consenso em português, retrotradução, avaliação por um comitê de especialistas, validação semântica e pré-teste. Este foi aplicado em uma amostra aleatória de 86 estudantes universitários, de ambos os sexos, mediana de 19 anos de idade. Pequenas diferenças entre as versões foram observadas e poucas adaptações realizadas. Após discretas modificações nos processos de tradução, o comitê de especialistas considerou que a versão para o português apresentou equivalências semântica e conceitual. A validação semântica demonstrou fácil compreensão. O instrumento apresentou alto grau de consistência interna. O estudo foi a primeira etapa do processo de validação de um instrumento, que é a validade de face e de conteúdo. Novas etapas, que já se encontram em andamento, são necessárias antes de sua utilização por outros pesquisadores.

[Healthy eating and the difficulties faced in making it a reality: perceptions of parents/guardians of pre-school children in Belo Horizonte/MG, Brazil]

A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted to establish the perceptions of 77 guardians of preschool children enrolled in a Child Day Care Center in Belo Horizonte/Minas Gerais State, regarding what is a healthy diet and the difficulties faced in having a healthy diet. The instrument used was a pretested semi-structured questionnaire containing leading questions obtained in face-to-face interviews. For data analysis, the Collective Subject Discourse technique was used, which elicited data organization of a verbal nature. It was revealed that the guardians have a notion of what healthy diet is, however their answers implied inadequate eating habits. They attributed insufficient financial resources, lack of time and ingrained eating habits as being the main difficulties in having a healthy diet. These three difficulties are the reasons given by some guardians who do not believe they have a healthy diet. The conclusion drawn is that the guardians need to have a better diet, because their eating habits influence their children's eating habits. These findings revealed the need for food and nutrition education strategies to enable the guardians to recognize and have a healthy diet.

Television viewing habits and their influence on physical activity and childhood overweight

OBJECTIVES

To assess the prevalence of television (TV) viewing habits and their association with childhood sedentary lifestyle and overweight in 8-year-old children, from a cohort in a city in Southern Brazil.

METHODS

A prospective cohort study with hospital screening of all births that occurred from September of 2002 to May of 2003. This study refers to a cross-sectional analysis of data collected during the cohort's follow-up conducted at 8 years of age. To evaluate the level of physical activity, a physical activity questionnaire for children and adolescents was used (PAQ-C), during the consultation at 8 years of age.

RESULTS

Of the 616 interviewed children, a prevalence of sedentary lifestyle>70% was found, as well as the habit of watching TV for more than two hours a day in 60% of the sample, regardless of gender (p=0.30), income (p=0.57), or family socioeconomic level (p=0.90). The daily time spent watching TV was inversely associated with physical activity (p<0.05) and positively associated with excess weight (p<0.01). Regarding physical activity, running was the most frequently practiced sports modality among the population.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering the high prevalence of sedentary lifestyle and children who watch TV for an excessive period of time, it is necessary to motivate such individuals to perform interactive activities, as well as promote a more active lifestyle, by decreasing the time children spend in front of the TV.