Introduction:

Mexico is among the main countries that faces nutritional problems caused by a deficit or excess of nutrients, which is causing malnutrition or overweight in its population.

Objective:

To identify the eating habits of people belonging to three different socioeconomic strata and compare them to nutritional profiles of a community restaurant in the City of Tepic, Nayarit.

Materials and methods:

The participants were surveyed about what they ate for breakfast and lunch the day before.

Results:

Protein consumption was found to exceed the recommended daily intake. Also, there was a low ingestion of dietary fiber (associated with low intake of fruits and vegetables) and a high incidence of carbonated drink consumption. Finally, the largest total caloric intake was recorded in people from the highest SS (attributed to their higher income), followed by those who eat at the community restaurant. However, none of the participants followed a balanced diet.

Conclusions:

The purchasing power of people belonging to the different socioeconomic strata is not the main factor that limits a balanced diet, since additional factors are the lack of information and poor nutritional habits of the Mexican population due to the loss of their food culture.

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