Objective:

To determine the classification of behaviors and eating habits of students in school stage through eleven dimensions.

Materials and methods:

Quantitative, non-experimental and transversal design, population of interest 590 schoolchildren aged from 6 to 12, Francisco Zarco elementary school, residents of the city of H. Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Simple random probabilistic sampling, the sample consisting of 243 participants from 1st to 6th grade. The questionnaire was used to evaluate behaviors and eating habits in users of primary health care formed by 11 dimensions, three cutoff points were classified according to percentiles, 1) <P25 = Poor behavior and eating habits; 2) P25 - P75 = Sufficient behavior and eating habits, and 3)> P75 = Healthy behavior and eating habits. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (associations) were used.

Results:

52.7% were male, 48.6% showed sufficient behavior and eating habits. Male sex presented a relationship with behavior and eating habits (X2 = 11.11, p= .004), as well as predictive effect (β= .307, F[1-241] = 11,516, p<.01).

Conclusions:

The eating habits of schoolchildren represent an opportunity to identify behaviors that may generate risk factors for the development of complications related to inadequate nutrition. Male participants were shown to have less healthy behavior and this indicates that they represent the most risk in the future.