Quality assessment of children’s menus served in commercial restaurants in view of the new food classification in the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of obesity has increased in the Brazilian population, especially in children, mainly associated with behavioral factors that lead to poor food choices. Objective: To evaluate the quality of children’s menus in restaurants in shopping malls in Baixada Santista-SP and their consonance with the recommendations of the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population considering the NEW food classification. Method: The article comes from a research project developed by a multidisciplinary and inter-institute team, composed of researchers from the Nutrition course. A questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument, applied in all shopping malls in four cities in Baixada Santista region – Santos, São Vicente, Praia Grande and Guarujá cities– with questions to characterize and assess the quality of children’s menus. The instrument was applied individually and simultaneously by two researchers, comparing their respective nutritional aspects to the concepts of healthy eating established in the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population; later, the collected data were transcribed to a digital platform. Sixty restaurants distributed in four cities were visited, of which only 13% had a children’s menu. Results: According to the characterization of restaurants, it was identified that 50% of them are from large chains, mostly fast food. Some preparations classified as ultra-processed, such as french fries, hamburgers and deep-fried, are offered in 87.5%, 62.5% and 87.5% of the restaurants, respectively. Preparations that require more specific techniques, such as pasta, were found in 37.5% of restaurants. The use of cheese as toppings and fillings was identified in 100% of the restaurants. Drinks classified as ultra-processed were offered in 12.5% of the restaurants. Conclusion: It was possible to identify that nutritional and allergen values are not displayed in the preparations. It was observed that the quality of children’s menus offered in restaurants is limited in relation to the variety of foods and with a large offer of ultra-processed foods, in disagreement with the recommendations of the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population.