Avaliação do consumo alimentar de frutas e verduras de escolares da rede privada do município de Icó - CE.

Abstract

School age, between 7 and 10 years, corresponds to the stage of growth with the highest nutritional requirements. This phase precedes the pubertal growth spurt, favoring the phenomenon of energy replacement, a physiological mechanism whose function is to save energy for the intense growth that occurs in adolescence. In this sense, the present study aimed to evaluate the frequency of consumption of fruits and vegetables by schoolchildren from 7 full years to 9 years, 11 months and 29 days. The study was carried out with children enrolled between grades 2 to 5 of primary school I, of both sexes, enrolled in private schools in the urban area of the municipality of Icó, located in the interior of Ceará. For data collection, a food frequency questionnaire containing a list of fruits and vegetables was used to quantify and analyze the frequency of consumption and the quality of the children's diet. After the application of the questionnaires, an analysis was carried out where the data collected was organized in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and represented by means of tables for a better visualization and formatting of the results. Thus, the results show that only 15 children consume more than five weekly servings of vegetables and 39 children consume fruits, with a percentage of 20% and 52%, respectively. Showing a higher consumption of fruits compared to the consumption of vegetables, therefore, it remains below the recommendation provided by the world health organization. This can result in vitamin and mineral deficiencies, impairing growth and cognitive development, and can also be a promoter of pathologies and health complications.