Alimentação fora do domicílio no Brasil e sua associação com obesidade: pesquisa de orçamentos familiares 2002-2003

Abstract

Out-of-home eating has increased in many countries, including Brazil, and this habit has been associated with the increase of obesity in developed countries. The aim of this study is to characterize the out-of-home eating in the Brazilian population and to assess its association with obesity. We used data from the 2002-2003 Household Budget Survey (HBS), carried out by The Brazilian Census Bureau. All individuals over 10 years old (N = 146,525) were included in the analysis. The frequency of out-of-home eating was estimated according to age, gender, educational level, per-capita household income, and household area location urban/rural and state capital city/other). Out-of-home eating was defined as the purchase of, at least, one type of food for consumption away from home in a 7-day period. The frequency of consumption of nine food groups (alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, cookies, fruits, sweets, dairy products, sit-down meals, fast foods and deepfried snacks) was also estimated according to age, gender, per-capita household income and household area location. A secondary analysis evaluated the association between out-of-home eating and overweight/obesity among individuals between 25 and 65 years old, living in urban area of Brazil (N = 56,178). The prevalence of outof-home consumption was 35%, being higher among young adults, male, those with the highest educational level, highest per-capita household income, living in urban areas, and in the capital city of the state. Soft drinks group, compared to the other food items, presented the highest frequency of out-of-home consumption in Brazil. Out-of-home consumption was positively associated with overweight and obesity only among men. The consumption of soft drinks and sit-down meals away from home showed the greatest association with overweight and obesity among men, however it showed a negative association among women. The expenditures on sit- down meals were, in average, almost three times as high as the expenditures on fast foods. In conclusion, age, gender, schooling, income and household location influenced the out-of-home consumption. These factors should be incorporated in public policies for healthy eating. Particularly, men seem to make less healthy food choices when they eat out of home.