O Guia alimentar para a população brasileira na realidade de Unidades de Alimentação e Nutrição: interface com atribuições legais e sentidos atribuídos por nutricionistas

Abstract

The current Brazilian food context is marked by a reduction in the consumption of fresh or minimally processed foods and an increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods. One of the responses to this trend was the publication of the second edition of the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population (DGBP), a document that guides public policies on food and nutrition. The objective of this thesis is to understand and analyze the interfaces between the principles and recommendations of the DGBP and nutritionists’ practice related to Collective Feeding. This study was structured in two axes: a theoretical-conceptual one, which consisted of elaborating on the DGBP interface matrix – Institutional Food Services (IFS), called MIGU - and another empirical one, based on qualitative research. MIGU tries to map the principles and recommendations of the DGBP to the nutrition activities developed in IFS by nutritionists (as seen in the Federal Council of Nutritionists Resolution). They are categorized in management dimensions in IFS, and they were based on the analysis as it relates to official documents. In the empirical axis, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 19 nutritionists who work at IFS in the city of Macaé / RJ, who are responsible for contract inspector, or manager and/or activity planning and/or monitoring activities related to IFS management. The content analysis technique was used. For the interpretation of the data, Symbolic Interactionism was adopted as a conceptual theoretical framework, in addition to the relevant concepts for understanding the object that included: production of meanings, professional autonomy, human agency and cognitive authority. As a result, we wanted to understand the meanings attributed by the study participants to the constituent elements of the DGBP, as well as their perception of the materialization of the principles and recommendations of this document in the execution of their technical attributions. After the analysis of the interviews, themes of 'autonomy', 'conception of feeding and nutrition', 'healthy eating', 'food and nutrition education', 'menu', 'foods according to the extent and purpose of their processing', 'commensality', 'sustainability' and 'Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian population' emerged, and several meanings related to them were shown. In general, nutritionists were sensitive to the principles and recommendations of the DGBP, including acting in agreement with them and putting into practice actions that lead to these results, even though they are not aware that they are often included in the document. However, aspects related to their autonomy and agency were identified as barriers, along with issues involving contracts, costs, purchases and suppliers, among other issues. These subjects are related to structural management and, therefore, the results of the study show the necessity of thinking about the relevance of experiencing the DGBP proposal in each IFS reality, so the nutritionist can actually incorporate them in their duties. As such, the theoretical interface established at MIGU, as well as the practices reported by nutritionists in addition to the meanings attributed by them to the principles and recommendations of the DGBP, indicate the power of management activities in IFS in materializing the DGBP, setting up a daily opportunity to promote healthy eating in communities.