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Consumption of ultra-processed food products, diet quality and nutritional status among Mexican children
- Alejandra Donaji Benítez-Arciniega, Ivonne Vizcarra-Bordi, Roxana Valdés-Ramos, Leidi Rocío Mercado-García, Carmen Liliana Ceballos-Juárez, Raquel Escobar-González, Jaqueline Hernández-Ramírez
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 79 / Issue OCE2 / 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 June 2020, E663
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Ultra-processed food consumption has increased in recent years. The evidence suggests a positive association between consumption of ultra-processed food consumption and low diet-quality and malnutrition, characterized by nutritional deficiencies and high prevalence of obesity and overweight. In México the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren is 33.2%, and ultra-processed food consumption varies from 40.4% to 81.5% depending on the product. The objective of this study was to describe the association between ultra-processed food consumption, diet-quality and nutritional status in Mexican schoolchildren. We analyzed dietetic and anthropometric data from 364 children (6–12 years) of two communities in the center of México. Four 3d-recalls (three days records followed up for ten months including weekdays and weekends) were used for data collection. Consumed foods were classified according to the level of processing using the NOVA classification. Portions of each food, dietary energy, macro and micronutrients intakes were calculated in accordance with the Mexican equivalent food system, nutrition labelling of each product and software Nutrimind® 15.0. Nutritional status was evaluated according to BMI categories; diet-quality was assessed calculating a dietary score. All data were adjusted by energy. In our study, 32% of foods consumed by schoolchildren were ultra-processed, 49% were minimally processed or unprocessed. 30% of the energy intake derived from ultra-processed foods (95% CI 29.2–33.2%). Major ultra-processed foods in habitual diet were bakery, pastries (23%), sugar-sweetened beverages (dairy and non-dairy) (22%), processed meat (18%), pizzas and pastas (9%), and canned vegetables (4%). Children in the highest quartile of ultra-processed foods consumption, presented lower diet-quality than those in the lowest quartile. In this group of children, 38.0% presented combined overweight or obesity, although there were no statistically significant differences between nutritional status and ultra-processed food consumption. Regular ultra-processed food consumption is associated with a lower diet quality in healthy schoolchildren. It is necessary to implement strategies to reduce intake of these products to avoid possible risks to health in early ages.
Measuring household food security in poor Venezuelan households
- Paulina A Lorenzana, Carmen Mercado
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- Journal:
- Public Health Nutrition / Volume 5 / Issue 6a / December 2002
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 15 December 2011, pp. 851-857
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Objective:
To validate abbreviated methods that estimate food security level among poor communities in Caracas, Venezuela.
Design:Two independent cross-sectional studies were undertaken to internally and externally validate simple quantitative/qualitative methods. The quantitative measure was constructed from data on household food availability, gathered using the list-recall method. It is a count of the foods that explain 85% or more of household energy availability. The qualitative measure is a score of female-perceived food insecurity level estimated with a modified ‘hunger index’, reflecting food resource constraints and hunger experiences within the home. Socio-economic and food behaviour data that may predict household food security (HFS) levels were gathered. The second study was repeated a year later to measure the impact of an increase in the minimum wage on HFS levels.
Setting:Two poor urban communities in Caracas, Venezuela.
Subjects:All households in both communities that complied with selection criteria (poor and very poor families that share food resources) and were willing to participate. The sample comprised 238 and 155 female household food managers in the two communities.
Results:In 1995, data from females in 238 urban poor households provided evidence for the overall validity of the method. Its application in 1997 to 155 households in the other community gave support to the external validity of the method. Measures were repeated in 1998 on 133 subjects of the above sample, when the minimum wage was increased by 23%. Evidence is presented showing the sensitivity of the method to changes in the determinants of HFS. Data analysed during these three periods suggest that the method can be simplified further by using the food diversity score instead of the quantitative measure since these variables correlate highly with one another (r ≥ 0:854).
Conclusions:This simple method is a valid and precise measure of food security among poor urban households in Caracas. The qualitative/quantitative measures complement each other as they capture different dimensions of HFS.