TEMPO DE TELA E CONSUMO DE ALIMENTOS ULTRAPROCESSADOS DE CRIANÇAS DE 2 A 5 ANOS DURANTE A PANDEMIA DE COVID-19

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20873/2025_jul_19702

Abstract

The increase in hours spent in sedentary activities is an important contributor to changes in eating habits, such as greater consumption of ultra-processed foods. Given this, this study aimed to evaluate the association between screen time and children's eating habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Brazilian national study, with a cross-sectional design, carried out between October and November 2020. Sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics were obtained through the self-administration of a semi-structured questionnaire. To evaluate the association between screen time and the consumption of ultra-processed foods, the Chi-square test was applied. The sample consisted of 174 pairs (children/caregivers), with the children's ages varying between 2 and 5 years. It was evidenced that as screen time increased, there was an increase in the consumption of stuffed biscuits, chocolates, sweets or sweets (p=0.026), as well as in the amount of food consumed by children (p=0.015) and in the habit of children “picking” food between meals (p=0.008), during the pandemic period. The need for children to restrict screen time and adopt a healthy diet is identified, for a better quality of life and prevention of chronic non-communicable conditions.

Published

2025-07-17

How to Cite

Fróis, L., Sales, C. A., Oliveira , J. P. L. de, & Teixeira, L. G. (2025). TEMPO DE TELA E CONSUMO DE ALIMENTOS ULTRAPROCESSADOS DE CRIANÇAS DE 2 A 5 ANOS DURANTE A PANDEMIA DE COVID-19 . DESAFIOS - Revista Interdisciplinar Da Universidade Federal Do Tocantins, 12(4), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.20873/2025_jul_19702