Estado nutricional e qualidade do consumo alimentar de escolares: práticas educativas como ferramenta de intervenção nutricional

Abstract

The school environment is a great contributor to the construction of the eating habit of children, since it is the place where they spend most of their day having interaction with other children, making it possible to carry out Food and Nutrition Education (EAN) practices during childhood. Healthy food is an inherent right to the human being and from it we guarantee, in addition to other factors, the nutritional needs for the correct development of the organism as a whole. Therefore, the importance of adequate nutrition during the childhood phase is noted. The world has been going through a significant nutritional transition, where changes in the dietary pattern and nutritional status of the kids are demonstrated. Being aware of this situation and the high levels of consumption of ultra-processed products and overweight in this age group, the use of EAN through the use of playful practices aims to facilitate, make learning pleasurable and contribute to the change of eating habits and improvement of nutritional status. In view of this, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of playful activities on the food consumption of elementary school students. This is an intervention study developed in a School of Basic Education of UFPB, located in the municipality of João Pessoa- PB. The study consisted of four moments: evaluating the nutritional status of children pre-intervention, application of food consumption questionnaires, application of playful activities and reassessment of consumption and nutritional status after the intervention. The results presented the playful activities as effective strategies in encouraging healthy habits, since it allowed slight changes in acceptability by specific foods few consumed such as vegetables, although there is no significant difference in already accepted foods, such as dairy. Thus, it can be concluded that EAN actions when implemented continuously are efficient in improving eating habits. Finally, it is suggested that new strategies should be developed for the familiarization of children with food groups of vegetables and some specific fruits, due to the presence of low acceptance.