Etapas de cambio conductual relacionado al consumo de frutas y verduras en escolares de Bogotá, Colombia

Abstract

Objective: Describing the relationship of stages of behavioural change regarding fruit and vegetable consumption with nutritional state in a group of schoolchildren from Bogotá, Colombia, who were involved in the FUPRECOL study. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 1,922 children and adolescents, aged 9 to 17 years-old, who were attending 9 state educational institutions in Bogotá. They filled in a self-completed questionnaire about behavioural change (CCC-Fuprecol) which had been validated in the FUPRECOL study; the BMI was calculated as nutritional state marker. Prevalence was calculated and associations were established by binary logistic regression models. Results: The sample consisted of 1,045 females (54.3%) and 877 males (45.6%). The male subgroup (children aged 9 to 12 years-old compared to adolescents aged 13 to 17 years-old) consumed more fruit during the maintenance stage (53.3% cf 38.8%; X2 p<0.001), followed by the preparation/action stage (25.0% cf 32.4%; X2 p<0.001). The greatest fruit consumption in 9 to 12 year-old females occurred during the maintenance stage (54.4%), unlike adolescents aged 13 to 17 years-old who stated that this happened with greater frequency during the preparation/action stage (42.0%). It was observed that belonging to the group of females was associated as a variable for compliance with the minimum recommendation for fruit and vegetables (OR 1.54: 1.22-1.93 95%CI; OR 1.48; 1.19-1.84 95%CI), respectively. Conclusions: Around 2/3 of the participants intended to or complied with the recommendations for consuming fruit and vegetables. The early identification of children and adolescents having low consumption of vegetables will facilitate introducing interventions for promoting healthy behaviour patterns to prevent cardio-metabolic risk during adulthood.