[Health behavior of schoolchildren in a metropolitan area of Madrid].

Background: To describe health behavior of students about diet, alcohol and tobacco, dental-oral hygiene, leisure time activities and interpersonal relations.

Methods: 942 Students have been carried out. Children come from six schools of the town of Parla (in the south of Madrid). They are from 9 to 14 years old. The instruments have been made for this study, helping by teachers of EGB.

Results: 50% of the students doesn't eat any food at 12 o'clock, after drinking a glass of milk only at breakfast (8 o'clock). 10% never eats greens. 37% of the children in the upper level drinks alcohol sometimes and, in the same level, 12% smokes sometimes. Around 25% of children brush their teeth three times in the day. The students watch television three hours and half, means, in the day. The communication with the teacher is evaluated from "not too bad" to "bad" by 70% of the students of upper level. 42% and 39.4% of the children talks about abortion and contraceptives, respectively, with nobody.

Conclusions: In general, girls have better habits than boys. Only exercise is more prevalent in the boys than in the girls.