Özet:

The present study aims to verify the prevalence of excess weight and its relation to lunchtime eating habits for male and female full-time student adolescents at ETEC, a technical school located in the southern area of the city of São Paulo- SP. The number of subjects in the study, seventy, was selected in order to conform to previously established criteria. Weight and height data were obtained by an anthropometric evaluation and used in the calculation of body mass. The data on eating habits at lunchtime were obtained by questionnaire. The results show 21.4% of subjects with excess weight, with 20% overweight and 1.4%, predominantly males, being obese. Regarding eating habits, 68,6% of the sampling that was classified as underweight, overweight, or those otherwise within the normal weight (eutrophic) selected inadequately nutritious food. Based on the data, the resulting index of overweight subjects is even more worrisome when associated with inadequate choice of food by most of the adolescents. Eutrophic subjects who made the same poor choices present reason for concern since they might become overweight in the future. The study reinforces the necessity of school-based preventative strategies to promote habit change, with the goal of improving the health of these future adults.

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