Proportion of consumption of food groups by children aged 6 to 23 months and associated variables

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the proportion of consumption of food groups by children aged 6 to 23 months and associated variables. Methods: Analytical cross-sectional study, conducted during the 2012 national polio vaccination campaign in Guarapuava-PR. A structured questionnaire was applied to 1,355 children's companions about food the day before the interview. The proportion of consumption of 6 food groups was investigated according to biological and socioeconomic variables of children and mothers. Results: Older children consumed more meat/eggs and beans (94.2% and 90.5%, respectively), and daughters of mothers with higher education consumed a greater proportion of foods from the meat/eggs, fruits and vegetables/ vegetables (94.1%, 93.7% and 93.9%, respectively), and there was an increasing trend in these variables. Children whose mothers worked outside the home also consumed more meat/eggs (89.8%), while children whose mothers had less education and did not work with pay consumed more beans (88.5% and 89.5%, respectively). As for the health service, those who attended the private service had a higher proportionality of consumption of vegetables/vegetables and fruits (90.6% and 89.4%, respectively) and those who attended the public service had a higher proportionality of beans (89.9%). Conclusion: it was possible to identify that the socioeconomic condition exerts a great influence on the child's diet, with the daughters of mothers who had higher education and paid work consumed more fruits, vegetables/vegetables, meat/eggs, and those who attended the health service public, mothers with low education and who had no paid work consumed more beans.