To Assess the Cariogenicity of the Lunch Box Content of Schoolgoing Children of Karad: A Cross-sectional Study

The present study was conducted to identify the main foods and beverages consumed at primary school and also to explore the information regarding cariogenic food consumption patterns of children in the school.

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 150 schoolgoing children of age 6-9 years of an English medium school in Karad. Respondents were asked about the type of daily food consumption at breakfast, lunch, and dinner using a 24-hour diet chart, and the lunch box of children was viewed at the time of lunch break to assess for carbohydrate-rich diet.

Majority of the students (58.6%) were boys, from class IV (25.4%) and class III (25.4%), and were between 20 and 25 kg (48%) and 116 and 130 cm (42%). It was observed that the most frequently consumed food in the lunch box was chapati/paratha and vegetables (45%) followed by poha/upma (28%) and biscuits (22%). Almost half of the students (46%) were in the category of "watch-out zone," that is, >15 sugar exposure.

Most of the food consumed in school was homemade and was less cariogenic. Beverages were less consumed by the students in the school time.

Since dental caries is a chronic infectious disease affecting more than two-thirds of all children and the incidence of caries is directly related to "form" or "physical consistency" of the sugar-containing foods, the content of lunch box should be considered a priority for health promotion efforts among children.

Gugawad S, Patil SV, Devendrappa SN. To Assess the Cariogenicity of the Lunch Box Content of Schoolgoing Children of Karad: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2024;17(2):121-124.