This investigation was carried out to evaluate the nutritional quality of the meal consumed by the children from 2 to 6 years old registered at municipal day-care centers in Teresina. The data were acquired in the period from October/97 to March/98, with the weighing of the food. For the calculation of suitability of the diets it was used the averages of the consumption of energy and nutrients, compared to the national recommendations. The study revealed insufficient offer of energy, iron, calcium and vitamin A. The protein and vitamin C were over the recommendation. The carbohydrate contributed with 58.5 ± 3.0% of the total calories, the proteins with 16.0 ± 1.3% and the fats with 25.5 ± 3.7%. The dietetic information showed a need to adopt a policy of seeking improvement of the quality of the diets, with special attention to the attendance of the nutritional recommendations.
child day care centers; child preschools; quality nutritional; food consumption
