Publicación:

Dietary habits, physical activity and nutritional state of Early Childhood Schoolchildren in times of the Covid-19 Pandemic; Hábitos alimentarios en escolares de Educación Inicial en tiempos de Pandemia Covid-19

Resumen

Background: Child malnutrition is a serious problem in developing countries. Educational interventions are effective since they improve the knowledge and understanding of healthy eating in school children. Identify eating habits of Initial Education students in times of the COVID-19 Pandemic and see their evolution after an educational intervention. Methods: Quasi-experimental, prospective, longitudinal research that evaluates in two moments (pre and post intervention) the educational module for the promotion of healthy eating and nutrition in children of the Initial Educational Institution Buenos Aires de Villa carried out during October-November. 2020 in Lima-Peru. 33 students from 5-year-old classrooms were selected. The instrument: Krece Plus test questionnaire. Results: The participants were 5 years old (78.8%) and 6 years old (21.2%). The average feeding habit increased from 27.3% to 30.3% and the high decreased from 69.7% to 66.7%; in men, high-level eating habits increased while in women they decreased, the variations occurred in 6-year-old students. There were no statistically significant differences in eating habits (Wilcoxon p=0.559). Conclusions: More than half of children have eating habits classified as “High”. There were differences, although not significant, after the intervention in the "Medium" and "High" eating habits. It was estimated that children at this stage had a great influence from their parents, who modified their eating habits, so it is necessary that they are also involved in the program. © 2023 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.