Frequency of consumption of ultra-processed foods in 5th and 6th grade schoolchildren from three Argentine provinces, related to sociodemographic characteristics and food environments

Abstract

Ultra processed foods (UFAs) are becoming increasingly important in children´s diets, deteriorating their health and quality of life in the short, medium and long term. This study analysed the frequency of consumption of UPAs in 5th and 6th grade schoolchildren from three schools in three localities with different levels of urbanisation and socio-productive activities, Centenario (Neuquén), San Luis (San Luis) and Serrano (Cordoba), according to socio-demographic characteristics and food environments, in the year 2021.

A descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 188 school children (San Luis n=76; Centenario n=62; Serrano n=50), who responded to a self- administered digital survey on the frequency of weekly consumption of UPA in main meals and snacks, socio-economic level (SEL) of the household and food environments (home and school). Comparison of proportions tests were applied to compare consumption frequency between locations and by SEL (significance level=0.005). Statistical analyses were performed with Stata V14.0 and EPIDAT.

The group with the highest frequency of consumption was sweet biscuits (72.3%), where Centenario (n=33) showed higher consumption than Serrano (n=23) and San Luis (n=16) (p=0.001). Flavoured juices were consumed by a high percentage of school children within the group of sweetened beverages (71.2%). Serrano had the highest numbers of school children with very frequent consumption and the differences between Serrano (n=21) and Centenario (n=14) (p=0.045), and San Luis (n=16) (p=0.020) were significant. Finally, the group of sauces/dressings was consumed more than four times a week by a high proportion of school children (65.2%), where Serrano (n=25) had higher consumption than Centenario (n=16) (p=0.014) and San Luis (n=22) (p=0.027). No significant differences were found when analysing these products according to SEL. Finally, the main environment where UPAs were consumed was at home and the highest percentage (56.91%) consumed them during snack time.

The results show that schoolchildren living in less urbanised localities had higher intakes of UPA, suggesting that both locality of residence and socio- economic background influence dietary choices and behaviours.