This study’s aim was to characterize the food environment of Brazilian public and private schools. This was a national school-based cross-sectional study with 1,247 schools - among which 81.09% were public and 18.91% were private - in 124 Brazilian municipalities. The data originated from the Questionnaire on Aspects of the School Environment, used in the Study of Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescents (ERICA) in 2013 and 2014. Data analysis was conducted in 2017. The chi-square test was used to compare proportions. A greater proportion of public schools offered school meals (98.15%) in comparison to private schools (8.07%) (p < 0.001). The internal sale of food and beverages was more prevalent in private schools (97.75% vs. 45.06%, p < 0.001). Also, sale and advertisement of processed and ultra-processed foods (sodas, cookies, savory snacks, sandwiches and pizza), as well as the presence of vending machines for industrialized products (18.02% vs. 4%) (p < 0.001) were more common in private schools. Street vendors at the school gate or surroundings were identified in 41.32% of the public schools and 47.75% of the private schools (p > 0.05). These findings reveal the predominance of obesogenic environments mainly in private schools, and can contribute to the design of Brazilian public policies to promote a healthy school food environment.

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and the associated factors among Brazilian adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional study with data from the Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents conducted in 2013-2014, with 58,707 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years-old who attended public schools. Logistic regression models were stratified by sex and the significance level of 5% was adopted for all analyses. Results: There was low adherence to school meals (17.2%). The chance of regular consumption of school meals was higher among male adolescents belonging to the medium (p<0.05) and the low (p<0.05) socioeconomic score categories. For females, the chance of regular consumption of food offered at school was higher among black-skinned, brownskinned, indigenous-skinned or yellow-skinned adolescents (p<0.05), aged 16 and 17 (p<0.05), who worked (p<0.001) and belonged to the medium (p<0.05) and low (p<0.05) socioeconomic score categories. The regular purchase of food in school cafeterias reduced the chance of regular consumption of school meals for males (p<0.001) and females (p<0.001). Conclusions: Adherence to the food offered by the PNAE is far from ideal, and it is important to create public policies that encourage the consumption of school meals and improve adherence. In addition, the strengthening and drafting of regulations aimed at the sale of food in the interior and surrounding schools' areas is necessary.

Background Childhood-juvenile obesity is a globally acknowledged public health issue. The school environment has been widely assessed because it is where adolescents stay longer during the day, and it may have impact on obesity. School became a crucial environment for obesity prevention in children and adolescents. The aim of the present study was to associate schools’ internal environment factors and its surrounding areas with obesity in adolescents from a Brazilian metropolis. Methods Cross-sectional study based on data from the Study on Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescents. The sample comprised 2,530 adolescents in the age group 12–17 years, who were enrolled in public and private schools in Belo Horizonte City, Brazil. Obesity was the dependent variable based on the cut-off point score-z + 2 for body mass index based on age. School environment’s independent variables were ‘managerial dependence type’, ‘number of drinking fountains’, ‘school sports environment’ and ‘ready-to-eat food shops’ around the school (within an 800 m buffer). Results Obesity prevailed in 7.21% in sample. The largest number of drinking fountains decrease by 9% the chances of obesity in adolescents enrolled in public and private schools; however, the second and third terciles recorded for the number of ready-to-eat food shops within the 800 m buffer around schools increased by 24% and 44% the chances of obesity, respectively. Conclusion School food environment aspects such as the number of operational drinking fountains and the availability of ready-to-eat food shops around the school were associated with obesity in adolescents from a Brazilian metropolis.

Sugar-sweetened beverages are widely available and accessible in school environment, and their presence and characteristics of this environment can influence their consumption. This study examines the association of drinking fountains per 100 students, soft drink sales, soft drink advertising, and the presence of street vendors and sugar-sweetened beverages consumption among adolescents in Brazil. This cross-sectional study was carried out using data from the Study of Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescents that was conducted between March 2013 and December 2014. The sample comprised 71,475 adolescents aged 12–17 years from 1,247 public and private schools in Brazilian cities. Sugar-sweetened beverages consumption was the dependent variable. The main effect was the school food environment, which was evaluated based on drinking fountains per 100 students, soft drink sales, soft drink advertising, and the presence of street vendors. Public and private schools that sold soft drinks were associated with higher average sugar-sweetened beverages consumption among adolescents. Our study highlights the importance of creating healthy school food environments by banning sugar-sweetened beverages in schools accordingly.