Abstract
ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate changes in food intake after adolescents attended a food and nutrition education program at a non-profit institution. Methods: Fifty-four adolescents aged 16 to 19 years, of low socioeconomic level, enrolled in an non-governmental organization in São Paulo, underwent a nutritional intervention of six months consisting of six meetings with dieticians, as well as strategic communication and relationship actions. Body weight, height, body mass index, questionnaire on knowledge on nutrition and feeding practices, 24-hour recall, and diet quality assessment using the Diet Quality Index associated with the Digital Food Guide were collected at baseline and after the intervention. Dietary pattern improvement was defined as an increase of at least 5 points in Diet Quality Index associated with the Digital Food Guide. Results: Understanding of food labels increased, and the dietary patterns on weekdays and weekends improved by 33 and 37%, respectively. The intake of legumes, milk, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables increased (adequacy components). However, intakes of nuts and whole grains were low, and intake of moderation components was high. Conclusion: The program improved the dietary patterns of adolescents, making it a viable and inexpensive method to prevent disease and improve health and quality of life. In addition, the Diet Quality Index associated with the Digital Food Guide has proven to be a good nutritional tool for assessing changes in food intake and for guiding future counseling and nutritional intervention actions for this population.
Highlights
Food and nutrition are basic requirements for health promotion and protection, enabling full attainment of human growth and development with quality of life and citizenship
The program improved the dietary patterns of adolescents, making it a viable and inexpensive method to prevent disease and improve health and quality of life
The promotion of a healthy diet is one of the main public health strategies for facing these food and nutrition problems in the current context because they consist of a strategy capable of preventing nutritional deficiencies and of reducing the incidence of overweight and other Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer[2]
Summary
Food and nutrition are basic requirements for health promotion and protection, enabling full attainment of human growth and development with quality of life and citizenship. Nutritional risks of different magnitudes and categories permeate the entire human life cycle, assuming various epidemiological configurations and function of each population’s health/disease process[1]. Adolescent obesity is a universal disease with a growing global prevalence, assuming the epidemiological nature of a public health problem. The promotion of a healthy diet is one of the main public health strategies for facing these food and nutrition problems in the current context because they consist of a strategy capable of preventing nutritional deficiencies and of reducing the incidence of overweight and other Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer[2].
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