BEHAVIOR OF FISHERMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES REGARDING CONSUMPTION OF SWEETS, DAIRY, AND SUGARY INFUSIONS

Rosario "coast" residents have access to urban health care centers and to the Backwater Valerio Health-care center, and can avoid tooth extraction and save their teeth. Those who live on "Charigue" and "Invernada" islands have no access to dental-care. There is a need for measures to prevent caries and periodontal disease. Such measures include choosing the type of sweet food, consuming dairy products, and reducing consumption of sugary infusions. OBJECTIVES: To explore the relation among the type of sweet food, milk intake, and amount of sugar added to infusions, among Rosario coast and neighboring island fishermen and their families. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Male and female subjects aged 15-45 years were included; they were asked about place of residence, consumption of sweet foods (classified into two groups: - sticky – less sticky), dairy intake (classified as: never, sometimes, and every day), type of infusion consumed, and number of teaspoons of sugar taken in their infusion. Fisher’s Test of Independence was performed. RESULTS: Out of a total 50 people, 40% lived on the "coast", 38% in "Charigue" and 22% in "Invernada". Average ages were 30, 32 and 31 years respectively. In regard to “sticky sweet” consumption, none of the “coast” fishermen consumed “Dulce de leche” (milk-jam), whereas 37% of respondents from "Charigue" and 9% of "Invernada" dwellers did (p=0.002). No differences in consumption of soft sweets (p=0.819), “alfajores” (p=0.110), marmalades/jams (p=0.109), quince jelly (p=0.465), yam jelly (p=0.106) or cookies (p=0.537) were observed. As to consumption of less-sticky sweets, 20% of “coast” residents, none of the subjects (0%) who lived in "Charigue", and 45% of "Invernada" residents consumed chocolate (p=0.005). No differences in consumption of lollipops (p=0.198), hard sweets (p=0.722) or cake (p=0.692) were observed. “Coast” inhabitants predominantly reported “never” consuming milk, whereas island dwellers reported consuming milk “sometimes” or “every day” (p=0.061). The predominant infusion was mate (p=0.529), with 45% of “coast” respondents, 20% of "Charigue" respondents, and 73% of "Invernada" respondents (p=0.008) reporting they took a minimum amount of sugar in their mate. CONCLUSIONS: Islanders consumed a higher proportion of sticky sweet foods, whereas “Coast” and “Invernada” residents chose to eat less harmful sweet foods. No preferences regarding intake of the remaining studied sweet foods were observed. "Coast" residents should increase their dairy intake, and all three populations should take less sugar in their mate.