Hábitos alimentares e conhecimento sobre práticas sustentáveis na alimentação escolar por estudantes de IFRN

Abstract

Adolescence is a phase of life evidenced by the presence of important biopsychosocial changes, where the individual's relationship with his food, and related aspects, can reflect in habits that can last for a lifetime. The study aimed to evaluate the socioeconomic profile, eating habits, and knowledge about food and sustainability of students from the Federal Institutes of Education in Rio Grande do Norte, as well as associations between certain variables of interest. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive, and quantitative study carried out with high school students enrolled in the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN), whose data collection was carried out through a questionnaire allocated on the Google® Forms platform. The questionnaire consisted of 6 blocks and addressed questions regarding socioeconomic data, health data, school meals, individual and family eating habits, food during the COVID-19 pandemic and, finally, questions regarding food and sustainability. Regarding the analysis of the nutritional status of participants aged less than or equal to 19 years, the calculation of BMI/A (Body Mass Index by age) was used based on self- reported weight and height data, using the AnthroPlus software (WHO, 2009). For the analysis of associations, some hypotheses related to some variables of interest were tested, for this, the chi square test (χ2) was used. A total of 330 students answered the questionnaire, 90 men and 227 women. BMI data for both sexes showed an alarming percentage of overweight and obesity, reaching about 25% of students, however, most had a nutritional diagnosis of normal weight (68.87%). There was a significant association (p<0.05) between body dissatisfaction and the student's gender, with the highest prevalence in females. Regarding eating habits, high consumption of ultra- processed foods was observed, in addition to low consumption of fruits. During the Covid-19 pandemic, 31.8% of students reported that their diet had worsened and 2% that they were eating less. Of those who reported improved diet during the pandemic (21.9%), there was a significant association (p<0.05) with the statement that they were cooking more at home. Regarding knowledge about sustainability, 87.4% of students know the term but are unaware of questions about food origin (74.3%), organic production (54.2%), and agroecology (97%). A significant association (p<0.05) was found between knowledge about sustainable production and the origin of school meals, with the variable parents' education. It is concluded that the IFRN students participating in the study recognize the importance of school meals and consider them better than in other food environments, such as canteens. However, there was a predominance of consumption habits for ultra-processed foods and the frequency of unhealthy foods in fast foods. Topics such as environmental sustainability and its connections with food should be further explored in student education. It is suggested that further studies be carried out in order to broadly investigate the socioeconomic and environmental determinants that influence diet, especially after the pandemic period. The data from this study will be able to help nutritionists and managers of federal institutes in the development of actions related to the improvement of food quality, food, nutritional and environmental education, aiming at promoting sustainable development.