Abstract
The scope of the article was to evaluate food consumption according to the type of food consumed in rural schools. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among adolescents enrolled in 12 rural public schools in Canguçu in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The research was linked to the intervention named “Physical Education +: Practicing Health in School.” Dietary intake was evaluated using consumption markers from the Brazilian Food and Nutrition Surveillance System. The main independent variable was the type of food consumed at school (brought from home, provided by the school free of charge and/or purchased at school). Descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test were used and the significance level was p<0.05. The study enlisted 526 students, 51.3% female and 88.0% consuming food free of charge. From 15% to 31% of adolescents consumed foods considered unhealthy for more than three days in the preceding week. Students who reported taking a snack to school consumed raw salad, fresh fruit or fruit salad, biscuits/crackers and packet snacks and soft drinks more frequently. It was concluded that the consumption of healthy foods among schoolchildren in rural areas was low and interventions are needed to improve the current situation of inadequate feeding practices.
Adolescent; Food consumption; School food; Rural population