OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the food consumption of 570 students aged 9-16 years, in grades 4-8 in 2005, from public and private schools of São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. METHODS: Food consumption was determined by the 24-hour recall. Energy, macronutrient, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium intakes were compared with the Dietary Reference Intakes. The number of times each food was cited was considered and the foods were grouped according to the Brazilian food pyramid. The chi-square test was used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Low consumption of sausages (around 6%), adequate consumption of meat and eggs (95.9%) and few skipping breakfast (3.2%), lunch (2.2%) or dinner (3.1%) were favorable aspects of the diet. Conversely, elevated consumption of biscuits (52.6%), low consumption of fruits (52.6%) and greens (34.4%), high consumption of sugars and sweets (69.4%) and oils and fat (65.6%), and the fact that the consumption of sodas (25.8%) and powdered drink mixes (35.8%) were higher than the consumption of fresh juices (23.4%) were negative aspects of the diet. Energy consumption was inadequate for 66.3% of the schoolchildren, lipids for 30.2%, vitamin A for 28.7%, vitamin C for 59.2% and calcium for 98.8%. CONCLUSION: Educational strategies for the promotion of healthy eating habits should cover common and specific contents in order to deal with the different food consumption practices of schoolchildren from private and public schools.
Adolescent; Food consumption; Child; Dietary surveys