Quality of diet of adolescents from the public school system of a municipality in southern Brazil: a cross-sectional study, 2019

Abstract

Objective: Identify factors associated with the quality of diet of 9th grade students from the municipal school system in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul. Methods: Cross-sectional study, carried out in 2019. Dietary information was adapted by the Food Frequency Form and the quality of diet evaluated by an index developed by the authors. Higher frequency of consumption of healthy foods considered higher scores, being lower when unhealthy. Total score, in tertiles, classified diet as low, intermediate and high quality. Association 4 was investigated using multinomial logistic regression. Results: The 808 adolescents evaluated had a mean of 16.0 points. High dietary quality was associated with tobacco experimentation [OR=2.92 – confidence interval of 95% (95%CI) 1,74;4,92] and the practice of leisure-time physical activity (OR=1.65 – 95%CI 1.15;2.38). Conclusion: The importance of encouraging the practice of physical activity, monitoring of risk behaviors in adolescents and promoting the consumption of healthy foods is highlighted.