Factors associated with the consumption of five daily servings of fruits and vegetables by students

Objective To evaluate and associate the frequency of consumption of five daily servings of fruits and vegetables with socioeconomic and demographic factors of students in the city of Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil. Methods A cross-sectional study with a sample stratified by clusters of 1,578 students aged 7 to 17 in the city of Santa Cruz do Sul (Rio Grande do Sul state), Brazil. Volunteers were asked whether they consumed five daily servings of fruits and vegetables. This consumption was classified as irregular or regular. Data regarding gender, age, socioeconomic status, domicile area, and information on the nutritional status of students were also collected. The prevalence ratio was calculated with a significance level of p<0.05. Results The consumption of at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day was reported by 40.6% of students. The irregular consumption of fruits and vegetables was higher among students aged 10-12 (69.7%, p<0.001), boys (60.9%, p<0.001), and urban area residents (61.8%, p<0.001). There were no significant differences between the consumption of fruits and vegetables and the students' socioeconomic status (p=0.094), nor with their nutritional status (p=0.999). Conclusion The students presented an irregular consumption of fruits and vegetables in relation to the recommendations of five servings per day. However, age and domicile area, which were significantly associated with the consumption of fruits and vegetables, were not associated with their socioeconomic and nutritional status.