Physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle are risk factors for excess weight and obesity in childhood. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt strategies which can modify these behaviors during childhood, the age at which habits are formed. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention using digital media and face-to-face activities involving children, parents, and the school community on the level of physical activity and sedentary behavior among schoolchildren. This was a secondary analysis of data obtained from a community trial in which students from four primary schools in Mexico City participated. Two schools were assigned to the intervention group (IG) and two to the control group (CG). The intervention lasted 12 months and included a face-to-face component, which involved sessions and workshops for parents and children, as well as visual material for children and a distance component utilizing electronic means (web portal and text messages to mobile phones) for parents. Anthropometric measurements were taken and information was collected on moderate to vigorous physical activity performed by the children and on the time that the schoolchildren spent in front of screens at the beginning of the study and at 6 and 12 months. Information on 201 children from the IG and 167 children from the CG was included in the analysis. At 12 months, the IG showed a mean decrease of 33.4 min/d [95% CI: −53.5 to −13.3] in screen time, while the CG showed an increase of 12.5 min/d [CI 95%: −10.5 to 35.6], p = 0.003. After 12 months of follow-up, applying this educational intervention reduced the time that schoolchildren spent in front of screens. Educational intervention is a feasible and accessible strategy for promoting changes in sedentary behaviors in the school-age population.

Sugary soft drinks modify salivary pH and favor bacterial proliferation and are associated with the development of caries. Information on the effects of consuming carbonated drinks without sucrose is limited. Methods: In this crossover clinical trial, salivary and dental biofilm pH were determined at 0, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, and 60 min after the participants (n = 18) ingested a soft drink with sucrose, a soft drink with aspartame/acesulfame K, carbonated water, and plain water on different days. Dental biofilm cultures were conducted at 0- and 120-min. Results: Salivary pH decreased significantly after ingestion of the sucrose-containing soft drink when compared with the other types of beverages (median difference, −0.3–−0.4, p ≤ 0.05), and the greatest difference was found with mineral water. A greater bacterial proliferation (Colony Forming Units [CFU]) was observed after ingestion of the drink with sucrose (↑310 × 10³ CFU, p ≤ 0.01), followed by the drink with aspartame/acesulfame K (↑160 × 10³ CFU, p ≤ 0.01) and carbonated water (↑60 × 10³ CFU, p ≤ 0.05). No significant changes in bacterial proliferation were observed after the consumption of natural water. Conclusions: Ingestion of sucrose-containing soft drinks favors the acidification of salivary pH and the bacterial proliferation of dental biofilm. Although to a lesser extent, soft drinks containing aspartame/acesulfame K also favor bacterial proliferation.

The identification and characterization of dietary patterns are tools that are used to assess associations between diet and health or disease conditions. In Mexico, studies have examined dietary patterns in children for breakfast or for the whole day, but not specifically for their school lunch. The aim was to describe dietary patterns identified in school lunch and their association with the nutritional status and metabolic parameters of schoolchildren. In this cross-sectional study on schoolchildren from four elementary schools of Mexico City, we recorded anthropometry measurements, a fasting blood sample was collected, and metabolic parameters were determined. We obtained information on the foods and beverages that children brought for their school lunch; estimated the caloric and nutritional content; and created food groups to obtain dietary patterns from the energy provided by those groups. Among the 350 schoolchildren (mean age, 7.9 ± 1.2 years) included, 24.9% and 21.7% presented having overweight and obesity, respectively. A total of 89.4% of schoolchildren brought the school lunch from home. Using the K-means method, the following four dietary patterns were identified: (1) sandwiches, tortas, and sweetened dairy products were consumed by 13.1% (n = 46) of the schoolchildren; (2) sweet snacks were consumed by 50.3% (n = 176); (3) sweetened dairy products were brought by 15.1% of the children (n = 53); and (4) sandwiches and tortas were brought by 21.4% (n = 75). These four patterns showed significant differences in terms of the caloric and nutritional contents (p < 0.001). Energy sources in the identified patterns were primarily sugars (15.8–40%). No association was found between the anthropometric and metabolic parameters of children and the dietary patterns. No dietary pattern obtained from the school lunch could be considered as healthy, since all of them had high energy content, and a high percentage of the energy was from sugars from ultra-processed foods and beverages.