Markers of food consumption in children up to five years of age living in shelters in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará.

Introduction: Food is a right ensured by law, and foster care institutions must ensure it to the children they admit by providing healthy food to avoid nutritional disorders and non-communicable diseases. Objective:To assess food consumption in institutionalized children. Method: a study was carried out in five foster care institutions in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, with 62 children aged 0-5 years between May and August 2017. The variables studied were sex, age, age at admission to the institution, duration of foster care and food consumption. Food consumption was assessed using the "Food Consumption Markers" form designed by the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System, which considers the consumption of fruits, vegetables and beans as markers of healthy eating and the consumption of ultra-processed foods as a marker of unhealthy eating. Food consumption data were analyzed based on the recommendations of the Guidelines for the Assessment of Food Consumption Markers in Primary Care. Data were collected by a nutritionist in face-to-face interviews. Results: There was a predominance of female children, with a mean age of 30.19±16.67 months. In all, 92.7% of the children exhibited some indicator of unhealthy food consumption for their age group. The consumption of ultra-processed foods and sweetened beverages by children aged 6-23 months and 29 days was high (83.33%). Conclusion: Most children exhibited some indicator of unhealthy food consumption for their age group in addition to the high frequency of consumption of ultra-processed foods, especially sweetened beverages, in all institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]