Alimentos consumidos por preescolares como colación y su relación con el estado nutricional

Pre-school children eat snacks which have an important role in their feeding and influence their eating habits. Objective: To know about the selection of food eaten by pre-school children as snacks, regulated by the institution or not, and its relation to their Nutritional State. Methods: Nutritional State was assessed according to BMI/Age, the food eaten and its acceptance were registered. Chi2 Results were used: 62% of the children presented normal BMI/Age, 21% overweight, and 16% obesity. The most eaten food groups were sugar/sweets, cereals/legumes and oil/fats. Statistically, there is a significant association between acceptance of healthy food in pre-school children and the institution they attend (p 0,05). Conclusions: Institutions which regulate snacks try to promote healthier eating habits; however pre-school children eat a great quantity of unhealthy food, independent of their nutritional state.