Abstract
Background:
The number of meals/day has been associated with a healthy diet, but there are controversies about the direction of this association. Nutritional counseling, an essential strategy for building healthy lifestyles in the population served by the Family Health Strategy (FHS), can be fundamental in this relationship.
Objective:
To verify whether the regular consumption of food markers is associated with the number of daily meals eaten and receiving nutritional counseling.
Method:
Cross-sectional study carried out with users of the Family Health Strategy in a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Regular consumption of food markers and nutritional characteristics (number of meals/day and receiving nutritional counseling) were assessed by applying a questionnaire. The association between nutritional characteristics and regular consumption of food markers was analyzed using Poisson regression.
Results:
Of the 529 individuals analyzed, 2/3 reported having three to four meals/day and 30% stated they had received nutritional counseling. The frequency of regular consumption of food markers ranged from 1.7% for fried foods to almost 60% for beans. Individuals who received nutritional counseling had a lower prevalence of regular consumption of sweets and soft drinks (PR=0.64; 95%CI 0.43–0.97). Number of meals/day was positively associated with dairy consumption; fruits and vegetables; fried foods, sausages and pastries. For the last two groups, an association was observed only for those who did not receive nutritional counseling.
Conclusions:
The results suggest that regular consumption of food markers is associated with receiving nutritional counseling and number of meals.
Keywords:
counselin; food guide; food and nutritional surveillance; primary health care
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