[Cultural differences in the food preferences of school population].

Objective: The combination of cultures can affect the feeding of the native population and immigrant, influencing the school population. The objective of this study was to analyze the habits and eating habits of schoolchildren and the relationships with their cultural environment.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study of a representative sample of 325 parents and students of primary school of an Almeria population was conducted. For the analysis of the qualitative variables Chi square was applied and for the quantitative ones, U of Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis was applied.

Results: The results showed a higher preference for vegetables in girls (42.22%) than in boys (30.34%). In schoolchildren who did not go to the school canteen, vegetable consumption was higher (pieces of vegetable Me=2,15), preference for dairy products 94.4% and fish 89.8%. Although 45.6% of children, whose parents came from North Africa, reported not having tasted pork, 29.4% were satisfied with this type of food. We observed a higher consumption of fruits and vegetables in children whose parents came from North Africa (pieces of fruit Me=3,42 and pieces of vegetable Me=2,38, respectively).

Conclusions: Through this study we observed a higher consumption of vegetables and higher preferences for dairy and fish in schoolchildren who did not go to the school canteen. Likewise, it was possible to observe an incipient change in the food patterns of the population from North Africa influenced by culture of the native population, referring to the consumption of pork. In general, the results showed a greater variety of consumption, in the children of foreign parents.