What Children Eat and what Parents Say or Think they Eat

Child obesity is a public health problem. Children learn about nutrition at school and parents are constantly reminded of the importance of healthy eating but doubt remains whether they are aware of what their children eat, as they spend most of their days at school, some of them with pocket money to spend on food.

Our goal was to compare what children say about their meals and what parents know about it. We applied a food survey to children in three schools in the region of Porto and asked their parents to answer the same inquiry. It involved questions about frequency of meals, consumption of various foods and use of the cafeteria. The results were analyzed using SPSS Statistics®.

The survey was applied to 201 children, mean age of 8,4 years (min 6, max 12, SD+-1,5) and 53% male. 48% reported having 5 meals/day. 42% reported eating 3 or more fruits/day. 80% reported eating meat 3 or more times/week and 52% reported the same frequency of fish. 50% consumed dairy 3 or more times/week. 14% reported drinking soft drinks and 12% eating candy every day. The parents’ survey reported a 4% and 5% consumption of soft drinks and candy every day, but the results were not statistically different between groups. 71% of the children reported using the cafeteria, 41% to buy candy, 66% bread and pastry and 19% soft drinks.

Food surveys may not be the best test to evaluate food consumption. Children’ memory may not be accurate and parents’ answers may be biased by what they know is healthy. Our sample shows high frequency of soft drinks and candy consumption, that was not reported by the parents, although with no statistical significance. These results and the low frequency of fish consumption demonstrates the need for more educational programs regarding healthy nutrition, aimed at children and their parents. Also, schools should be aware and accountable for foods they have available.