OBJECTIVES: to describe the results of a nutrition intervention program aiming to promote healthy eating habits among schoolchildren. METHODS: an uncontrolled intervention study was conducted covering 162 schoolchildren from the 3rd and 4th grades of two educational institutions (public and private) in the city of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. A short-term nutritional education program was run over the course of seven weekly meetings. An eating habits questionnaire was applied. Weight and height data were taken before and one month after the intervention conclusion. RESULTS: although no changes were detected in the schoolchildren nutritional profile, there was a significant reduction in the cookies consumption brought from home among private school boys and in the public school, there was a significant increase in the school meals and fruit consumption. CONCLUSIONS: after the intervention, it was observed that it had increased the frequency of some attitudes and more healthful eating habits. The period between the program conclusion and the second anthropometric examination can not have been enough to provoke changes in the body mass index. This experience can be applied in other institutions and, for its better effectiveness, it must count with the school community participation (mainly parents and professors).
School feeding; Overweight; Obesity; Nutrition intervention; Food habits
