[Food consumption frequency in schoolaged adolescents and its cardiovascular risk association]

Childhood and adolescence are the life stages where eating habits related to the development of cardiovascular risk factors are usually established.

To classify cardiovascular risk in school adolescents from Villavicencio (Colombia) and, additionally, to estimate its association with food intake frequency according to food kind.

This is an analytical cross-sectional study developed in 1,504 adolescents of 13 to 17 years of age schooling in Villavicencio. We evaluated the cardiovascular risk according to the model proposed by Rodríguez-Soriano and Sanjurjo, and the food intake frequency with a structured survey. We used a binomial regression model to estimate the relationship between cardiovascular risk and food intake frequency.

The mean age of the participants was 14.9 ± 0,07 years; 61.9% were women, and 80.6% came from schools located in urban areas. According to the cardiovascular risk classification, 34.5% of adolescents had a high cardiovascular risk, while 25.4% had intermediate risk. Men and those who consume more than two sugary drinks per day are those who presented a higher percentage of high cardiovascular risk (48.6% and 36.9%, respectively). Regression models showed that consumption of more than one sugary drink per day was associated with high levels of cardiovascular risk in adolescents (OR 1.27 95%CI 1.04-1.55).

A high proportion of adolescents have medium and high cardiovascular risk; additionally, the consumption ofsugary drinks showed its association with cardiovascular risk.