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Effect of home-prepared meals or school-offered meals consuming in lipid profile of school-aged children from Maracaibo municipality, Venezuela

Abstract:

Background and Objectives: In recent decades, the prevalence of diseases such as obesity and dyslipidemia has increased among children, often attributed to practices typical of Westernized societies. This includes excess calorie intake in all meals including breakfast, which is particularly important in this demography. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effect of homeprepared meals (HPM) or school-offered meals (SOM) and daily nutritional intake in the blood lipid profile of normalweight school-aged children from the Raúl Leoni parish in the Maracaibo Municipality, Venezuela. Materials and Methods: Quantitative, cross-sectional, field study carried out in 52 children of both genders from 2 private middle schools from the Raúl Leoni parish in the Maracaibo Municipality, aged 8-10 years, and with normal Body Mass Index values for their age and gender. Participants had their anthropometric measures and blood lipid profiles determined. Food intake frequency and the nutritional content of breakfast and daily intake were assessed with a 24-hour recall survey. This data were processed according to Venezuela's Food Composition Table. Results: The nutritional adequacy proportions of calories, fats and carbohydrates were excessive in children who had SOM, and significantly greater than those who had APH (p>0.011; p>0.002 y p>0.002, respectively). There were no differences regarding blood lipids. The most frequently consumed foods included fried goods in both groups. No association was found between blood lipids and nutritional adequacy proportions of calories, protein, carbohydrates or fats in either group (p>0.05). Conclusions: In the population studied, children who had SOM show excess intake of calories, fats and carbohydrates; nevertheless, this does not appear to affect their blood lipids significantly.