Ximena Rodríguez Palleres1*, Gabriella Di Capua Ramírez1 and Álvaro Toledo San Martín2
1School of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Bernardo O'Higgins
University, Chile
2Department of Mathematics and Physics, Bernardo O'Higgins University, Chile
*Corresponding Author: Ximena Rodríguez Palleres, School of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Bernardo O'Higgins University, Chile.
Received: December 29, 2020; Published: January 16, 2021
Background: The childhood obesity is a public health problem whose main causes are the consumption of processed foods and junk food with a decrease in physical activity.
Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the existence of associations between nutritional status and the consumption of diet soft drinks in school children in Santiago, Chile.
Methods: Cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 157 school children of both sexes from 6 to 9 years of age of the Renca municipality, Santiago, Chile. To determine the nutritional status, weight, height and waist circumference were evaluated. To describe the consumption of diet soft drinks, a survey prepared for this study was applied.
Results: 57.97% of school children are overweight and obese according to BMI. Regarding abdominal obesity, 53.51% presented this condition according to waist circumference. 64.34% consume diet soft drinks at least one glass a day. Compared to the children who never drink diet soft drinks, the risk of obesity was higher in those who drank 1 glass a day of diet soft drinks (Odds ratio (OR): 1.02 [(IC) 95%: 0.45-2.32]), and who consumed 2 or more glasses a day of diet soft drinks (Odds ratio (OR): 1.52 [(IC) 95%: 0.74-3.2] p = 0.258). The risk of abdominal obesity in school children who consumed 1 glass (Odds ratio (OR): 1.3 [(IC) 95%: 0.58-2.98]) or 2 glasses a day of diet soft drinks (Odds ratio (OR): 1.1 [(IC) 95%: 0.57-2.4] p = 0.6726) was also higher.
Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of excess malnutrition accompanied by a significant percentage of children who drink diet soft drinks daily. School children who drink diet soft drinks every day are at increased risk of obesity.
Keywords: Nutritional Status; Diet Soft Drinks; Obesity; Abdominal Obesity; School Children; Cardiovascular Risk
Citation: Ximena Rodríguez Palleres., et al. “Nutritional Status of Diet Soft Drinks Consumption Among Chilean School Children".Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 5.2 (2021): 60-66.
Copyright: © 2021 Ximena Rodríguez Palleres., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.