Eating behavior of quilombola and non-quilombola adolescents from the rural area of the semiarid region of the state of Bahia, Brazil

The scope of this article is to describe the food consumption and eating behavior of quilombola and non-quilombola adolescents from the rural area of Southwest Bahia. A cross-sectional study with 390 adolescents aged 10 to 19 years was conducted in 2015, using an adapted PeNSE and PNS questionnaire. Food consumption was assessed by the frequency of healthy and unhealthy food markers in the previous 7 days. Eating breakfast was used as a marker of healthy eating behavior and having meals while watching TV as being unhealthy. Frequency distribution was carried out and the differences between quilombola and non-quilombola groups were assessed using the chi-square test. The prevalence ratio (PR) estimated the association of food consumption and eating behavior and the variables of interest. Low fruit consumption (30.8%), vegetables (44.3%) and milk (24.4%) was observed. Comparison between the groups revealed lower consumption of vegetables (PR = 0.73), fruit (PR = 0.67) and milk (PR = 0.68) among quilombola than among non-quilombola adolescents. Public policies targeted at nutritional assistance specific to rural adolescents are recommended, since bad eating habits can prevail throughout life and lead to poor health conditions.