OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the consumption of beverage and soft drinks by adolescents of a public school in São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: 71 adolescents (aged between 14 to 17 years old) from both genders, attending a technical school in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, answered the following questions: the kind of beverage taken during meals, the places where soft drinks were consumed and the main reason related to this intake. RESULTS: The most frequent consumed beverage was the industrialized fruit juice (38.1%), followed by regular soft drinks (28.6%) and natural fruit juices (22.2%). The main place where soft drinks were consumed was home (38.2%), followed by school (22.1%). The main reason associated with soft drink intake was the flavor (75.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Sweet beverage intake was frequent among adolescents, specially soft drinks. These beverages are available and consumed at home and at school, and they were considered tasteful. Nutritional education programs should discuss how to prioritize the intake of other beverages and how to control the sale of these products at schools, aiming to stimulate the intake of more healthy beverages by adolescents.
Adolescent; soft drinks; child nutrition
