QUALITY OF THE CHILDREN'S MENU IN SHOPPING MALL RESTAURANTS IN THE CITY OF SÃO PAULO AND IN BAIXADA SANTISTA

Food consumption out of home has become a routine for Brazilians because of the practicality and agility. Nevertheless, this is characterized by a greater ingestion of calories, sugars and fat, which may increase the risk of developing chronic non- communicable diseases. Given this scenario, the present study aimed at evaluating the quality of the children's menus available in shopping mall restaurants in the municipality of S & atilde;o Paulo and in the municipalities of Santos, S & atilde;o Vicente, Praia Grande and Guaruj & aacute;, in Baixada Santista. For sample selection, the restaurants of 30% of the shopping malls of each region in the city of S & atilde;o Paulo were included, as well as those of all shopping malls in Baixada Santista. Only those presenting children's menus were evaluated and, after collection, only one restaurant per chain was considered. The data were collected using a form at Google Forms. Only 30.3% of the establishments in S & atilde;o Paulo and 13.2% in Baixada Santista offered the option of children's menu. The protein and fried preparations were the most offered in the children's menus. The presence of vegetables was evident in Baixada Santista; nonetheless, the servings are considered small, being noticeable the low offer of in natura and minimally processed foods, and the most used cooking methods were boiled, fried and grilled. The results obtained demonstrate there is a need for a new look in the development of children's menus, given the high demand of consumption out of home and the adaptation to children's needs.