Abstract

As an interdisciplinary group of researchers, we carried out a diagnostic investigation to describe and analyze children's food consumption during recesses in public primary schools of the city of Buenos Aires. Eating during breaks is a widespread practice -without variation in magnitude among different geographic areas of the city- that is conditioned by certain features of school settings: the existence of snack stands within the school, the provision of structured meals, the existence of drinking fountains on the playgrounds and the distribution of fruits. Likewise, food consumption varies by gender, in close relationship to the activities and games that girls and boys carry out during the break. These activities are in turn conditioned by institutional norms and the physical spaces available. Through these characteristics of the school environment, a "hidden" education about food is developed that must be made visible and addressed in health promotion activities at the schools.