OBJECTIVE: To identify signs, pathological tendencies or established diseases in first and second grade students in order to promote better health practices in the school environment. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 1,332 school children enrolled in the first and second grades of 13 schools in the Southern region of São José dos Campos (Southeast Brazil). In order to establish the students' health status, the following evaluations were conducted: visual screening, nutritional assessment, blood hemoglobin count, stool examination for parasites, assessment of the children's immunization records, hearing assessment, blood pressure test, and a pediatric appointment. RESULTS: Low prevalence of anemia (8.4% of the group) and parasites in the stools (2.5%) were observed. Conversely, high prevalence of excessive body weight (21.7%) was found. Among the studied children, 94.7% had their vaccinations up to date. CONCLUSIONS: Initiatives, such as the Programa Pincel Mágico, not only identified early health-related changes in schoolchildren, but also encouraged the cooperation between the healthcare and the educational sectors, helping to build a new preventive outlook of students' health.
school health; anemia; nutritional status; hearing; eye health; blood pressure
