Evaluación del estado nutricional en adolescentes de 15 a 18 años, que asisten al Colegio Técnico Salesiano, cantón Cuenca, 2009

Abstract

Objective: To contribute to knowledge of the nutritional status of adolescents aged 15 to 18 years of Salesian Technical School in the city of Cuenca.-Background: The changes in lifestyle, food trends and level of physical activity results from the influence of sociocultural determinants have been variations in the nutritional status worldwide.- In the Ecuadorian population, and more specifically en the town of Cuenca health has been inadequately studied, probably because of the lack of statistical data of the population, and poor quality control and data collection.-Methodology: Subjects were 300 students of Salesian Technical School, we used surveys and forms where anthropometric measurements, the level of physical activity and dietary intake patterns, were evaluated.-Results: 52.7% had a normal nutritional status, 12.3% overweight and 8.0% were obese while 15.7% had deficit. A 50.33% of adolescents eat a high calorie diet and 72% of students perform light physical activity. According to WHO, 75.3% of students have normal weight for age and 95.3% showed a normal height for their age.-Conclusions: For every 10 adolescents, 1.2 are overweight, 1.9 obesity and 1.5 deficit. Half of all teenagers have a high calorie diet with increased consumption of carbohydrates. 7.2 of every 10 perform light physical activity, and 2.8 of 10 perform a moderate-intensity physical activity. The nutritional status does not depend significantly on the type of food, but if physical activity.