Resumo

CUNEO, F  e  MAIDABA, TE. Proposal and implementation of a food quality and protection index in urban adolescents. Diaeta [online]. 2014, vol.32, n.149, pp.14-22. ISSN 1852-7337.

Dietary habits during adolescence have great significance for health. The way young people eat create conditions that may be more or less favorable for the development of prevalent chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to study the regular diet of an adolescent population using a food quality and protection index. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was used in 479 high school students of both sexes, between 12 and 20 years old, coming from a school in the city of Santo Tomé, Santa Fe Province, Argentina, who completed surveys about habits and frequency of food consumption. A food quality and protection index was proposed, which valued the adequacy of the frequency of consumption of 10 food groups and corrected upon preventive dietary factors or promoters of chronic noncommunicable diseases related to food, following the recommendations of the DASH diet, the Mediterranean one and the Dietary guidelines for the Argentine Population. The index ranked food into "Protective Diet"; "Needs Changes" and "Not Healthy". 92% of the students had a "Not Healthy" diet, as a result of a high consumption of processed foods high in sodium and fat, and low consumption of fruits and vegetables. The proposed index is easy and quick to implement and process. No food protection was observed in any participant. The adolescents’ diet did not follow any proposal for healthy eating.

Palavras-chave : Index; Food quality; Adolescents; Chronic diseases; Eating habits.

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