Objective: Evaluate changes in the Brazilian population's diet and its determinants during the covid-19 pandemic.
Methods: We used diet data collected by the Datafolha Institute in 2019 (n = 1,384), 2020 (n =1,214), and 2021 (n = 1,459) from independent and representative samples of the adult population (aged 18 to 55 years) from all socioeconomic classes and geographic regions of Brazil. Food consumption was measured by checking the consumption of 22 sets of food on the day before the survey.
Introduction: In 2020, Brazil approved the introduction of a new front-of-package nutrition labeling (FoPNL) in the format of a magnifying glass (MG) after years of discussion. There is currently a lack of understanding of the role of the food industry in that process. This study aimed to describe the corporate political activity (CPA) of the food industry and conflicts of interest situations, as they happened during the development and approval of a new FoPNL system in Brazil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvidence of the impacts of corporate food systems on people's health raised concerns about the multiple outcomes of malnutrition and climate change, including commodities production and high consumption of ultra-processed food products. The COVID-19 pandemic overwhelms this scenario, highlighting the urgency for improvements in governance spaces and regulatory measures that can tackle the advance of large corporations, which act exclusively based on their private interests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Panam Salud Publica
November 2020
Objective: To identify how countries have positioned themselves to fight against all forms of malnutrition.
Methods: Qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive study of the statements of 91 out of the 127 (71.7%) countries that issued declarations in the Second International Conference on Nutrition.
In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, adequate, reliable and timely information becomes even more relevant. The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization office in Brazil and key partners have developed initiatives to improve access, sharing and dissemination of the information and knowledge produced, translated and systematized about COVID-19 as a technical contribution to the fight against the pandemic. This article presents some of these resources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Panam Salud Publica
November 2019
The present article aims to describe and discuss the actions implemented from 2014 to 2018 at the federal level in the context of the Intersectoral Strategy to Prevent and Control Obesity issued by the Brazilian federal government. The goal of the Intersectoral Strategy is to prevent and control obesity based on six action plans: 1) availability and access to adequate and healthy foods; 2) education, communication, and information; 3) promotion of healthy lifestyles in specific environments/territories; 4) food and nutrition surveillance; 5) comprehensive care for individuals presenting obesity in the health care network; and 6) regulation and control of the quality and harmlessness of food. To gather information, semi-structured questionnaires were submitted to representatives from the ministries of Education, Health, Planning, Citizenship, and Agrarian Development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to evaluate the National Program for Vitamin A Supplementation in a municipality (county) in Northeast Brazil, with participation by the parents or guardians of children under five years of age. This was a cross-sectional, population-based study using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. A total of 657 interviews were performed, and the vitamin A doses recorded on the children's immunization cards were analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrazil, like other developing countries, is currently experiencing a nutritional transition that is often determined by poor eating. Population-based surveys have shown a continuing downward trend in undernutrition in this country, together with increases in excess weight at different stages of life. Monitoring the nutritional profile helps generate an attitude of surveillance and orientation of health promotion activities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Panam Salud Publica
December 2007
With ever-increasing frequency, consumers are seeking information on the foods they eat. Food labels are an important source of this type of information, and the Codex Alimentarius, created by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, provides a global reference for coordinated food quality and identification standards. The Codex Alimentarius agenda includes nutritional information and "health claims," which are defined as any representation that states, suggests, or implies that a relationship exists between a food or a constituent of that food and health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Panam Salud Publica
September 2005
Objective: To investigate whether adults who shop in supermarkets in one part of Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil, use the information contained in food and beverage labels, as well as to characterize this usage.
Methods: This study was done in five supermarkets in the Plano Piloto (Pilot Plan) central core area of Brasilia. The research was carried out in two stages: (1) a quantitative stage, based on a cross-sectional study, during which 250 individuals were randomly selected and surveyed in the supermarkets; and (2) a qualitative stage, in which 25 individuals who had participated in the first stage underwent more extensive individual interviews.