The aims of this study were to identify cross-sectional dietary patterns (DPs) in a representative sample of 7–10-year-old schoolchildren, to examine how scores for these DPs tracked over a time period of five years (from age 7–10 years to 12–15 years), and to investigate longitudinal associations between changes in DPs scores and changes in BMI (Body Mass Index) z-scores. Children aged 7–10-years were examined in 2007 (n = 1158) and a subset of the sample participated in a follow-up in 2012 (n = 458). Factor analysis (FA) was applied to derive DPs at baseline. The change in DP from childhood to adolescence was analyzed by comparing factor scores using the complete cases, in which factor loadings were the ones evaluated at baseline. Associations of BMI change with DP change were assessed by multivariate linear regression. At baseline, four DP were identified that explained 47.9% of the food intake variance. On average, the factor scores of “DP II” (salty snacks, French fries, fast-food, sugary beverages) decreased in follow-up, while no changes were observed for “DP I” (rice, cooked beans, beef/poultry, leafy vegetables), “DP III” (fruits, cooked and leafy vegetables, fruit juices, pasta, milk, cheese), and “DP IV” (milk, coffee with milk, cheese, breads/biscuits). No significant linear association was shown between changes in BMI z-scores and changes in DP scores from childhood to adolescence. In conclusion, three out of four DP scores identified at baseline tracked slightly in adolescence.

The aims of this study were to identify dietary patterns (DPs) of children and adolescents participating in three cross-sectional surveys (2013–2015) and to test their associations with sociodemographic variables, physical activity (PAS), screen-based sedentary activity (SA), and weight status. One-day data were obtained from 5,364 schoolchildren (7–12 years) from public schools of Florianopolis (South of Brazil), using the validated questionnaire Web-CAAFE (Food Intake and Physical Activity of Schoolchildren). DPs were derived from the frequency of daily consumption of 32 foods/beverages by latent profile analysis. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association of the DPs with sociodemographic variables, physical activity, screen activity and weight status. ‘Traditional’, ‘Monotonous’, and ‘Mixed’ DPs were identified. The percentages of children and adolescents within these profiles were 41.3, 36.3, and 22.4%, respectively. Children and adolescents in the highest tertiles of both PAS and daily frequency of SA had a higher probability to present a ‘Mixed’ DP compared to peers with less PAS and SA. Children and adolescents who reported having a school meal were significantly more likely to present the ‘Traditional’DP, while boys who did not report having a school meal had a higher probability to present the ‘Monotonous’ DP. The DPs were not associated with the year of survey, age, family income, or weight status.