Hábitos alimenticios e índice de masa corporal en adolescentes: Revisión bibliográfica

Abstract

According to the research conducted, in recent years, the number of adolescents with inadequate or poor nutrition has increased, which is why they have become a vulnerable group. This study aimed to determine adolescents’ eating habits and body mass index (BMI) through a literature review. This investigation adopts a qualitative approach and is based on literature research. The review involved an electronic search for articles on eating habits and BMI in adolescents, using indexing sources such as Google Scholar, SciELO, Medline, and PubMed, with particular emphasis on studies conducted with university students in health sciences schools. The bibliographic search yielded 15 articles, most of which reported instances of overweight among adolescents. BMI data indicates that 55% of adolescents are classified as "underweight" according to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. This predominance may be attributed to low-fat diet consumption and regular physical exercise. Nevertheless, a more in-depth analysis is required to obtain conclusive results from this research. These findings may be useful for extrapolating data to the adolescent population. Keywords: eating habits, body mass index, nutritional status.