Horta escolar na promoção de hábitos alimentares saudáveis em pré-escolares de um centro municipal de educação infantil em Maceió, Alagoas

Abstract

In the preschool phase, food preferences follow their first social environment: the family. Later, with the insertion of the school, there is the expansion of possibilities and a greater receptivity to new knowledge, that may reflect positively or negatively on your eating habits. From this perspective, the practice of Food and Nutrition Education (FNE) through the school garden is a relevant strategy for promoting adequate and healthy nutrition, since it covers nutritional, environmental and sociocultural aspects, rescuing the food-nature bond. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the role of the school garden in promoting adequate and healthy eating in preschoolers of a Municipal Center of Early Childhood Education (CMEI) in Maceió, Alagoas. This research is part of an extension project of the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), entitled "Cultivating Health and Practicing Leisure in Horta - Promotion of adequate and healthy food and leisure from the implementation of a vegetable garden in a CMEI". This is a cross-sectional, observational study with a quali-quantitative approach, conducted from June 2019 to April 2020. We included 61 children regularly enrolled aged between 2 and 4 years incomplete. The characterization of the school garden was carried out through data from the extension project, field research and photography. The participation of children in the activities of planting, harvesting and consumption of vegetables was evaluated through their participation, classified as active or passive. In the stage of consumption of vegetables, a form was filled out about the child's behavior and the participation of the educators. The children showed significant participation in all activities, with satisfactory learning, behavior associated with the practice of pedagogical methodologies appropriate for the age group. Exposure to the garden allowed the approximation of children with healthy foods, an aspect that may have favored their consumption. Thus, the importance of contextualized food and nutritional education promoted by the vegetable garden may have helped in greater contact and interaction with food, knowledge about food and nutrition, factors that may favor the development of healthy eating habits.