Publications by authors named "Maria Alice A de Assis"
Item response theory (IRT) is a psychometric method that provides probabilistic model-based measurements. Its use is relatively recent in the assessment of food consumption, especially through dietary assessment tools. This study aims (1) to develop a food-based diet quality scale for Brazilian schoolchildren using IRT, and (2) to apply the scale to a representative sample of schoolchildren from a Southern Brazilian city.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeveral studies reported that the timing of eating events has critical implications in the prevention of obesity, but dietary patterns regarding the time-of-day have not been explored in children. The aim of this study was to derive latent food patterns of daily eating events and to examine their associations with overweight/obesity among schoolchildren. A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 7-10-year-old Brazilian schoolchildren (n 1232) who completed the Previous Day Food Questionnaire, illustrated with twenty-one foods/beverages in six daily eating events.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExternal validation of food recall over 24 h in schoolchildren is often restricted to eating events in schools and is based on direct observation as the reference method. The aim of this study was to estimate the dietary intake out of school, and consequently the bias in such research design based on only part-time validated food recall, using multiple imputation (MI) conditioned on the information on child age, sex, BMI, family income, parental education and the school attended. The previous-day, web-based questionnaire WebCAAFE, structured as six meals/snacks and thirty-two foods/beverage, was answered by a sample of 7-11-year-old Brazilian schoolchildren (n 602) from five public schools.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To investigate whether sedentary behavior during school-time is associated with gender, age, mother's education, having physical education classes, weight status, and academic performance.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Methods: A sample of 571 children (7-12 years old) from five elementary schools in Florianopolis, South Brazil had their height and weight measured, and wore accelerometers during class time.
Objective: To estimate the prevalence of overweight and to identify associations with sociodemographic, biological and lifestyle factors in adolescents from Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out in 2007 with a probabilistic sample of 1,590 schoolchildren aged from 11 to 14 years old. The prevalence of overweight, based on body mass index, was estimated by the Brazilian reference and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF).
Objective: The objective of the study is to evaluate cross-sectional and longitudinal changes in children's commuting to school in a representative sample of a Brazilian city.
Methods: Two school-based studies were carried out in 2002 (n=2936; 7-10 years old) and 2007 (n=1232; 7-15 years old) in Florianopolis, Brazil. Cross-sectional data were collected from children aged 7 to 10 years in 2002 and 2007.
Background: A cross-cultural, randomized study was proposed to observe the effects of a school-based intervention designed to promote physical activity and healthy eating among high school students in 2 cities from different regions in Brazil: Recife and Florianopolis. The objective of this article is to describe the methodology and subjects enrolled in the project.
Methods: Ten schools from each region were matched and randomized into intervention and control conditions.