Effectiveness of an educational intervention to reduce the consumption of high-calorie foods in public school children in Teresina, Piaui (Brazil)

Introduction: there is high prevalence of overweight and poor food habits among adolescents, and these factors contribute to the development of chronic diseases. Objective: the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention designed to reduce the consumption of high-calorie foods in public school children in Teresina, Piaui, Brazil. Materials and methods: quasi-experimental, randomized, quantitative intervention study involving adolescents (n = 126) of both sexes aged 10-14 years. An educational intervention, which involved 9 weekly meetings, was developed. A questionnaire was completed prior and subsequent to the intervention. Associations between variables were examined using a chi-square test (x(2)). Results and discussion: there was a significant reduction in the consumption of soft drinks and processed juices subsequent to the educational intervention (p = 0.007). It has further reduction in weekly consumption of food like meat and sausage (p = 0.072). Adolescents' weekly consumption of fried foods and potato chips also decreased significantly subsequent to the educational intervention (p < 0.001). Conclusions: the food and nutrition educational program was efficacious in reducing the adolescents' intake of high-calorie food and drinks and contributed to an improvement in the quality of food consumed by the schoolchildren evaluated.