Nutritional Habits in 8-11-Year-Old Spanish Children According to Their Gender

Objectives: The main goals of this study were to describe the nutritional habits of 8-11-year-old children and to analyze the differences in nutritional habits according to their gender. Methods: A total of 240 children (114 boys and 126 girls) from a Spanish primary education state school completed the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index in Children and Adolescents (KIDMED) questionnaire. Results: The average score obtained on the KIDMED questionnaire for all participants was 7.16 ± 2.06 points, and only the 45.4% of the participants showed optimal adherence to the Mediterranean diet. No differences between boys and girls were found in their adherence to the Mediterranean diet (boys: 7.38 ± 1.95 vs. girls: 6.97 ± 2.14, p = 0.648). However, in the 10-year-old group, significant differences according to gender were found for some specific consumptions (i.e., olive oil, nuts, yogurts and cheese) and habits (i.e., skipping breakfast). Conclusions: The results obtained in this study seem to indicate that only half of the children have optimal adherence to the Mediterranean diet, so their dietary patterns should be strengthened. Moreover, some differences were found for some specific consumptions and habits in children older than 10 years old. These results could have important implications for families, schools and health promoters, since they have the potential to foster healthy nutritional habits. Furthermore, they underline the importance of gender-sensitive nutritional interventions in children older than 10 years old.