Alimentos marcadores da qualidade da dieta no Brasil

Abstract

This dissertation aimed to describe the most consumed foods in the Brazilian diet according to gender, age, regions and per capita family income and to identify the main sources of sugar and sodium in the country using data from the 2007-2009 Telephone-based Risk Factor Surveillance System for Chronic Diseases (VIGITEL) and from the first Brazilian National Dietary Survey (NDS). The results are described in 4 articles. The first article aimed to evaluate markers of food intake of the telephone-based risk factor surveillance system for chronic diseases (VIGITEL) and the trend of these markers. A total of 135,249 subjects from 27 brazilian cities interviewed in the 2007 2009 surveys were evaluated. For the others articles, data from the 2008-2009 Brazilian NDS were used in order to describe the most consumed foods in the country according to gender, age, regions and per capita family income (article 1) and to identify the major food sources of dietary sodium (article 3) and free, added and total sugar in Brazil (article 4). The analysis was based on food intake data obtained on the first of two non-consecutive food records from 34,003 subjects over 10 years old. Brazilian population food intake has been characterized by the increase of the consumption of high energy-dense processed foods and sugar sweetened beverages, even though the intake of traditional foods, such as rice and beans, were still observed. Among the sugar sweetened beverages, the consumption of soft drinks can be considered as marker of quality of the diet in the Brazilian population. Data from the VIGITEL showed an increase of 7% in the consumption of soft drinks, and this item was the one that discriminates food intake the most. According to the data from the 2008-2009 Brazilian NDS, soft drinks was one of most consumed food items, and could be also considered as a marker of total, added and free sugar intake, as well as, the intake of juices, cookies and coffee. Adolescents were the age group that presented the highest intake of total, added and free sugar. This result could be attributable to the largest intake of sugar sweetened beverage and cookies in this age group. Regarding sodium intake, processed foods, such as salty preserved meats, processed meats, cheeses, crackers, oils, spreads, sauces and condiments, sandwiches, pizzas, and breads were the main sources of dietary sodium in the Brazilian population diet. Our findings reinforce the importance of food and nutrition policies that encourage the intake of healthy food, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and traditional foods, such as beans. VIGITEL system should include food items that may have impact in reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases.