Determinación de los hábitos alimentarios, antropometría, y nivel socioeconómico de los niños de una escuela pública y privada de la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

Background: School-age children require a high biological demand for nutrients to ensure adequate physical and mental development. For this reason, an appropriate diet plays an essential role in avoiding nutritional problems such as: malnutrition, overweight and obesity. Objective: To determine the eating habits, socioeconomic level and anthropometric measures of school students from 9 to 12 years in Cuenca city. Materials and Methods: Non-experimental descriptive study, 90 students from a public and private school participated, chosen randomly. Suitable instruments were used to determine anthropometric measurements (weight, height, skin folds) and the development of surveys on children's eating habits and the socioeconomic level of their parents. Finally, Stata software was applied for data analysis. Results: 45 children from a public school and 45 children from a private school, between the ages of 9 and 12, participated. Regarding nutritional status, in the private sector 35.6% of schoolchildren were overweight and 22.2% obese, while in the public sector 26.7% of schoolchildren were overweight and 11.1% obese. Finally, a relationship was found between socioeconomic level and nutritional status.