“La comida que sirve, la guardamos en el estómago”: las ideas de los niños  y los adolescentes sobre el proceso digestivo

Rigoberto León-Sánchez; Roberta Chiesa  Bartelmebs

doi:10.55028/9s6z2438

Authors

Rigoberto León-Sánchez National Autonomous University of Mexico https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0838-3507
Roberta Chiesa Bartelmebs Federal University of Paraná https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1057-6623

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55028/9s6z2438

Abstract

Abstract: This study presents the results of a survey of 47 children and adolescents from Mexico City, divided into four groups: G1 (6 and 7 years old), G2 (8 and 9 years old), G3 (11 and 12 years old), and G4 (16 to 18 years old), regarding their ideas about the digestive system. Using a Piagetian clinical method interview, participants were prompted to consider what would happen to an apple ingested by a child. The study sought to understand the models that mediate the relationship between food intake and output, as well as to understand the criteria of these mediating models and their subsequent evolution throughout the school years. The study indicates that there are 6 models to represent the digestive system, with the first three representing food reaching the stomach and the last three considering, in addition to the stomach, the existence of the intestines and their function in nutrient absorption. The data show a notable change from G3 onwards in the way the digestive process is conceptualized, using more sophisticated descriptions of digestion. Furthermore, for most subjects in G1, food ends up in the stomach, while for those in G2, the connection between the stomach and intestines is still superficial. However, some responses imply a mechanical and dilutional understanding in the stomach, which may indicate that even participants in G1 are beginning to conceive of mediators between the entry and exit of food.

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Author Biographies

Rigoberto León-Sánchez, National Autonomous University of Mexico

Licenciado en Psicología. Doctor en Psicología del desarrollo. Profesor en la Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México: Ciudad de México, MX.
Roberta Chiesa Bartelmebs, Federal University of Paraná

Pedagoga. Doutora em educação em Ciências e Matemática. Professora associada na Universidade Federal do Paraná - Setor Palotina.

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