This study was carried out with 194 schoolchildren with the purpose of investigating the lipid profile of their diets and the correlation with serum cholesterol. A 24-hour food inquiry was performed and serum cholesterol levels, including HDL-cholesterol, were measured by enzymatic methods. Bivariate correlation and logistic regression were done to find any association between dietary fat consumption and serum cholesterol. The intake of carbohydrates and fiber for boys was bigger than for girls (t test). The mean of calories supplied by carbohydrates was 52.7%, by proteins was 14.0% , by triglycerides was 33.3%, by monounsaturated fatty acids was 12.0%, by polyunsaturated was 8.5% and by saturated was 12.5%. The average of cholesterol intake was 176mg and of fiber was 15g. The mean level of serum cholesterol was 150mg/dl and of HDL-cholesterol was 36mg/dl. The serum cholesterol was related to calories from triglycerides, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Logistic regression showed association between monounsaturated fatty acids and high cholesterol level. In conclusion, the method used in this study was not appropriate to identify relationship between dietary fat and serum cholesterol because the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia in the study population (4.8%) was low. Individual answer factors showed be considered in the study of association between dietary fat and serum cholesterol.
cholesterol; dietary fats; child nutrition; child health; studentes
