Consumo de alimentos fonte de ferro entre crianças atendidas na atenção primária à saúde

Abstract

Objectives: This study evaluated the frequency of consumption of iron source foods among children enrolled in the Family Health Strategy of Governador Valadares, MG. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 256 children aged 6-59 months enrolled in 10 units of the Family Health Strategies. A structured questionnaire was applied about socioeconomic, life and health conditions of parents and children. The anthropometric evaluation was performed by weight/height and height/age indicators. A food frequency questionnaire was used to categorize the consumption of iron source foods as frequent (5-7 times/week), casual (1-4vezes/week) or rare (<1time/week). Mann-Whitney test and Pearson's chi-square test were used to compare the results according to the child's age range (6-24 months versus 25-59 months), adopting p <0.05. Results: The iron source foods with the lowest consumption frequency were rapadura and other derived from sugarcane (2.2%), fish (4.7%) and viscera (6.3%). Beans (79.7%), bakery products (78.9%) and children’s meals (29.9%) were the most consumed. Older children had a higher frequency of consumption for leafy vegetables, red meats, poultry and eggs, while the younger ones had a higher frequency of consumption for milk formulas. Conclusion: Even with a significant increase in the frequency of consumption for important iron source foods with age, the occurrence of frequent consumption of these foods remained low among older children, providing nutritional iron deficiency in both age groups.