Perception of a healthy diet in four schools

Introduction: Childhood obesity has been increasing in the last few years and Colombia is not excluded from this problem. One of the places to determine the perception of healthy food is in schools, where the schoolchildren are the ones who select their food. Objective: To provide a profile of the dietary habits of a childhood population in four Colombian schools, with the aim of determining their priorities as regards the choice of foods, and in order to provide recommendations. Methodology: A descriptive multicentre study that presents the results of questionnaires completed by schoolchildren between 8 and 18 years, users of school shops. A descriptive analysis was performed in accordance with the dietary preferences that included the school, gender, and age. Results: A total of 512 schoolchildren were included. The distribution by gender and age was similar in the four schools. Among the foods of preference there was a predominance of pre-packed food, pizza and ice-cream with a lower percentage of fruit. As regards drinks, there was an excess of fizzy ones and bottled tea. Among the reasons that predominated for choosing the foods was “the taste” followed by “ease and speed”, whilst among the reasons for not choosing, the price was the main reason. Conclusion: Interventions are needed from an early age in order to develop healthy and balanced eating habits. Likewise, it should be a priority to design a program for the detection of inadequate eating habits in schools with the aim of combatting them.