Abstract
The National School Food Program (NSFP) recommends the promotion of healthy eating habits by offering meals along with food and nutrition education (FNE) actions. The objective of this study was to identify the FNE in the NSFP and its relationship with the nutritionist’s profile. It involved an analytical, cross-sectional study conducted in cities in the state of of Goiás, Brazil. Data was collected by telephone, and the association between the outcome variable (achievement of FNE actions) and exposure (school population and nutritionist performance) was done by Pearson’s chi-square test of with a 5% significance level. In this study, 214 (87%) municipalities were included, among which, 91.1% promote FNE actions with predominantly biannual frequency (25.3% in schools and 23.2% in day care centers). The nutritionist presence was associated to the FNE (p = 0.001). FNE actions are performed in most municipalities, however with low frequency. The association indicates the relevance of a nutritionist present in conditions that heed the legislation, enabling the performance of their duties, as defined by the Legal Framework of the NSFP and the Federal Council of Nutritionists.
Food and nutrition education; School food; Nutritionist; Health promotion; School health