Influence of food education in eating habits in students from 2nd and 3rd cycles in viseu schools

Introduction: Food Education as a means of promoting a healthy diet is very important nowadays, given the problems identified in the eating habits of the young’s, resulting in public health problems. The intervention strategies haven’t proved to be very effective and therefore children and young students still reveal inadequate diets and sedentary lifestyles. Objectives: Verify the level of knowledge about food and habits of the students; Analyze how the information provided by educators is sufficient to promote a healthy diet; Understand if physical activity is being neglected at the expense of the use of new technologies in relation to the maintenance of healthy habits. Methods: This is an investigation of descriptive-correlational nature based on a questionnaire. The target population of this study was the students in Viseu schools. The sample consisted of students aged between 10 and 15 years from the 5th to the 9th levels. It was randomly selected among classes belonging to each level of education. The data collected was analyzed by SPSS, using the Descriptive and Inferential Statistics. Results: The majority of students revealed a deficient knowledge about the concept of healthy diet, and the recommended dosages for the main groups of foods. Furthermore, the evaluation of the eating habits of the students showed that sometimes they prefer foods that please, like chocolate or chips, for example in disfavor of foods that promote health, such as fruits, milk or soup. Conclusions: The food education is still a challenge and a major investment must be made on this area so as to promote health and minimize the important public health problems in future generations