[Food consumption of children and adolescents living in an area of invasion in Maceio, Alagoas, Brazil]

NOVA food groups' consumption associated with nutrient intake profile of school children aged 8-12 years

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between the consumption of NOVA food groups (classification based on the nature, extent and purpose of food processing) and the intake of energy, macro and micronutrients among school children.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study. Food consumption was assessed by two 24-h dietary recalls on non-consecutive days. Energy from each NOVA food groups - ultra-processed foods, unprocessed or minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients and processed foods - was estimated. For analysis, the percentage of energy from ultra-processed foods and unprocessed or minimally processed foods were categorised into tertiles and associated with intake of energy, macro and micronutrients using analysis of covariance and linear regression.

SETTING

Public schools in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

PARTICIPANTS

School children aged 8-12 years (n 797; 406 girls; 391 boys).

RESULTS

Mean energy intake was 2050·18 ± 966·83 kcal/d, 25·8 % was from ultra-processed foods, 56·7 % from unprocessed or minimally processed foods, 8·9 % from processed culinary ingredients and 8·6 % from processed foods. A higher energy contribution from ultra-processed foods was negatively associated with the intake of protein, fibre, vitamin A, Fe and Zn (P < 0·001) and positively associated with total energy, lipid and Na intake (P < 0·001). Concurrently, a higher energy contribution from unprocessed or minimally processed foods was positively associated with the consumption of protein, fibre, Fe and Zn (P < 0·001) and negatively associated with total energy (P = 0·002), lipid and Na intake (P < 0·001).

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, higher ultra-processed food consumption presented a negative association with the nutrient intake profile of school children.

Development of a mobile application to assess Brazilian schoolchildren's diet: CADE – food consumption at home and at school

The development of technologies for children's dietary assessment shows important potential for reducing the occurrence of inherent errors in traditional methods. The present study aimed to describe the development of a mobile app for the dietary assessment of Brazilian schoolchildren. The mobile app assesses schoolchildren's diet with self-report by their parents or guardians in the home environment, through multiple-pass 24-hour recall coupled with a food propensity questionnaire; and by an adult in the school environment, through a food record. The tool presents a database of food items usually consumed by Brazilian schoolchildren, including modes of preparation, probing foods and types of food quantification such as digital photos of household measurements and food portions. The CADE app (food consumption at home and at school) contains 2125 food items, 9 options for preparation methods and 18 options for probing items. There are 75 options for household measurements, also including 26 digital photos of four types of household measurements and 440 photos of portion sizes of 90 foods from the Brazilian Manual of Child Food Portion Quantification. Some innovative features include an interface to take photos of the child's meals and report seconds and leftover food consumption, besides the possibility of receiving notifications on the mobile device to remember to report the diet. The CADE app can assist the standardisation and automation of dietary data collection from schoolchildren, support food and nutrition data in childhood and promote research in nutritional epidemiology while reducing data collection costs.

Impact of ultra-processed foods on micronutrient content in the Brazilian diet

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of consuming ultra-processed foods on the micronutrient content of the Brazilian population's diet. METHODS This cross-sectional study was performed using data on individual food consumption from a module of the 2008-2009 Brazilian Household Budget Survey. A representative sample of the Brazilian population aged 10 years or over was assessed (n = 32,898). Food consumption data were collected through two 24-hour food records. Linear regression models were used to assess the association between the nutrient content of the diet and the quintiles of ultra-processed food consumption - crude and adjusted for family income per capita. RESULTS Mean daily energy intake per capita was 1,866 kcal, with 69.5% coming from natural or minimally processed foods, 9.0% from processed foods and 21.5% from ultra-processed foods. For sixteen out of the seventeen evaluated micronutrients, their content was lower in the fraction of the diet composed of ultra-processed foods compared with the fraction of the diet composed of natural or minimally processed foods. The content of 10 micronutrients in ultra-processed foods did not reach half the content level observed in the natural or minimally processed foods. The higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was inversely and significantly associated with the content of vitamins B12, vitamin D, vitamin E, niacin, pyridoxine, copper, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium and zinc. The reverse situation was only observed for calcium, thiamin and riboflavin. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study highlight that reducing the consumption of ultra-processed foods is a natural way to promote healthy eating in Brazil and, therefore, is in line with the recommendations made by the Guia Alimentar para a População Brasileira (Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population) to avoid these foods.

[Food consumption and nutritional adequacy in Brazilian children: a systematic review]

OBJECTIVE:

To perform a review of studies of food consumption and nutritional adaptation in Brazilian infants pointing the main findings and limitations of these studies.

DATA SOURCE:

The articles were selected from Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (Lilacs) (Latin-American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and Science Direct in Portuguese and in English. The descriptors were: ''food consumption'', ''nutritional requirements'', ''infant nutrition'' and ''child''. The articles selected were read by two evaluators that decided upon their inclusion. The following were excluded: studies about children with pathologies; studies that approached only food practices or those adaptation of the food groups or the food offert; and studies that did not utilize the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI).

DATA SYNTHESIS:

Were selected 16 studies published between 2003 and 2013. In the evaluation of the energy consumption, four studies presented energetic consumption above the individual necessities. The prevalence of micronutrients inadequacy ranged from 0.4% to 65% for iron, from 20% to 59.5% for vitamin A, from 20% to 99.4% for zinc, from 12.6% to 48.9% for calcium and from 9.6% 96.6% for vitamin C.

CONCLUSIONS:

The food consumption of Brazilian infants is characterized by high frequencies of inadequacy of micronutrients consumption, mainly iron, vitamin A and zinc. These inadequacies do not exist only as deficiencies, but also as excesses, as noted for energetic consumption.

Food pattern and nutritional status of children with cerebral palsy

OBJECTIVES

To assess the food intake pattern and the nutritional status of children with cerebral palsy.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study with 90 children from two to 12.8 years with cerebral palsy in the following forms: hemiplegia, diplegia, and tetraplegia. Nutritional status was assessed by weight, height, and age data. Food intake was verified by the 24-hour recall and food frequency questionnaire. The ability to chew and/or swallowing, intestinal habits, and physical activity were also evaluated.

RESULTS

For 2-3 year-old age group, the mean energy intake followed the recommended range; in 4-6 year-old age group with hemiplegia and tetraplegia, energy intake was below the recommended limits. All children presented low intake of carbohydrates, adequate intake of proteins and high intake of lipids. The tetraplegia group had a higher prevalence of chewing (41%) and swallowing (12.8%) difficulties compared to 14.5 and 6.6% of children with hemiplegia, respectively. Most children of all groups had a daily intestinal habit. All children presented mild physical activity, while moderate activity was not practiced by any child of the tetraplegia group, which had a significantly lower height/age Z score than those with hemiplegia (-2.14 versus -1.05; p=0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

The children with cerebral palsy presented inadequate dietary pattern and impaired nutritional status, with special compromise of height. Tetraplegia imposes difficulties regarding chewing/swallowing and moderate physical activity practice.

Macronutrient consumption and inadequate micronutrient intake in adults

OBJECTIVE

To estimate energy and nutrient intake and prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intake among Brazilian adults.

METHODS

Data from the National Dietary Survey, from the 2008-2009 Household Budget Survey, were used. Food consumption was evaluated through food record on two non-consecutive days. A total of 21,003 individuals (52.5% women), between 20-59 years old, participated in the survey. Usual nutrient intake was estimated according to the National Cancer Institute method. The Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) cut-off points were used to determine the prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intake. For manganese and potassium, the Adequate Intake (AI) was used as cut-off. Sodium intake was compared with the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL). The probability approach was used to determine the prevalence of inadequate iron intake. The data were analyzed according to the location of the household (urban or rural) and macro regions of Brazil.

RESULTS

The mean energy intake was 2,083 kcal among men and 1,698 kcal among women. Prevalence of inadequacy equal to or greater than 70% were observed for calcium among men and magnesium, vitamin A, and sodium among both men and women. Prevalence equal to or greater than 90% were found for calcium in women and vitamins D and E in both genders. Prevalence lower than 5% were found for iron in men and for niacin in men and women. In general, prevalence of inadequate intake was higher in the rural area and in the Northeast region.

CONCLUSIONS

Energy intake was higher among individuals who live in urban areas and in the North region. The greatest risk groups of inadequate micronutrient intake were women and those living in rural areas and in the Northeast region.