Publicação
Diet assessment in the School Context
| Resumo: | Introduction: Dental caries is one of the most prevalent diseases, affecting around 50% of children and adolescents. When not properly prevented and/or treated, it compromises several functions, impacting the child’s biopsychosocial development. Its etiology is multifactorial, and diet is one of the most important risk factors. Considering the extended time children spend at school each day, it is expected that at least 2-3 of their meals are consumed during school hours. The main goal of this paper is to evaluate and determine cariogenic and caloric index of preschool menus.Methodology: Preschool lunch menus, from schools in the Central Region of Portugal, during the first quarter of 2025, were collected and analyzed. Menus were obtained through school websites or by direct email request. Only menus including caloric data were considered for analysis. Each meal was evaluated for its cariogenic potential using the Pediatric Cariogenicity Index and for caloric adequacy based on Portuguese national guidelines. Data were organized using Microsoft Excel® and statistically analyzed with GraphPad Prism®. Results: The analysis revealed that most preschools complied with national caloric guidelines. Urban schools had a mean caloric value of 490.4 kcal, while rural schools averaged 486.0 kcal. The mean cariogenic index was similar between geographic areas - 3.424 in urban schools versus 3.443 in rural schools (p = 0.3441) - indicating no statistically significant difference. In contrast, a significant difference was observed between school types: public schools exhibited a higher average cariogenic index (3.432) compared to private schools (3.397), with the difference reaching statistical significance (p = 0.0212). Although private schools also showed higher mean caloric values (520.6 kcal) than public schools (492.4 kcal), this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.3533).Discussion: These findings suggest that school type may exert a greater influence than geographic location on the nutritional and cariogenic quality of preschool meals. Public schools were associated with meals of higher cariogenic potential, probably reflecting underlying structural and/or organizational differences, such as procurement policies or menu planning guidelines. The lack of significant caloric differences across school types and regions suggests general compliance with energy recommendations, though the observed trend toward higher caloric content in private schools warrants further investigation.Conclusion: To promote health equity and protect children's oral and overall health, it is imperative to enhance nutritional oversight and implement standardized quality benchmarks for school meals across both public and private institutions. |
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| Autores principais: | Cavaco, Raquel Inês Castanho |
| Assunto: | School meals Caloric index Cariogenic index Pre-school children Dental caries Refeições escolares Índice Calórico Índice Cariogénico Crianças em idade pre-escolar Cárie dentária |
| Ano: | 2025 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso embargado |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Coimbra |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Estudo Geral - Universidade de Coimbra |
| Resumo: | Introduction: Dental caries is one of the most prevalent diseases, affecting around 50% of children and adolescents. When not properly prevented and/or treated, it compromises several functions, impacting the child’s biopsychosocial development. Its etiology is multifactorial, and diet is one of the most important risk factors. Considering the extended time children spend at school each day, it is expected that at least 2-3 of their meals are consumed during school hours. The main goal of this paper is to evaluate and determine cariogenic and caloric index of preschool menus.Methodology: Preschool lunch menus, from schools in the Central Region of Portugal, during the first quarter of 2025, were collected and analyzed. Menus were obtained through school websites or by direct email request. Only menus including caloric data were considered for analysis. Each meal was evaluated for its cariogenic potential using the Pediatric Cariogenicity Index and for caloric adequacy based on Portuguese national guidelines. Data were organized using Microsoft Excel® and statistically analyzed with GraphPad Prism®. Results: The analysis revealed that most preschools complied with national caloric guidelines. Urban schools had a mean caloric value of 490.4 kcal, while rural schools averaged 486.0 kcal. The mean cariogenic index was similar between geographic areas - 3.424 in urban schools versus 3.443 in rural schools (p = 0.3441) - indicating no statistically significant difference. In contrast, a significant difference was observed between school types: public schools exhibited a higher average cariogenic index (3.432) compared to private schools (3.397), with the difference reaching statistical significance (p = 0.0212). Although private schools also showed higher mean caloric values (520.6 kcal) than public schools (492.4 kcal), this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.3533).Discussion: These findings suggest that school type may exert a greater influence than geographic location on the nutritional and cariogenic quality of preschool meals. Public schools were associated with meals of higher cariogenic potential, probably reflecting underlying structural and/or organizational differences, such as procurement policies or menu planning guidelines. The lack of significant caloric differences across school types and regions suggests general compliance with energy recommendations, though the observed trend toward higher caloric content in private schools warrants further investigation.Conclusion: To promote health equity and protect children's oral and overall health, it is imperative to enhance nutritional oversight and implement standardized quality benchmarks for school meals across both public and private institutions. |
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