In the last ten years, the consumption of ultra-processed foods by Brazilians had an average increase of 5.5%. This is what a study on the profile of consumers, released by the Journal of Public Health of the University of São Paulo (USP), by the Nucleus for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health (Nupens/USP) points out. The nucleus is responsible for the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population. “The increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods between 2008 and 2017, although not very large, was significant. This increase corroborates other studies that evaluated purchases by Brazilian families since the 1980s, showing that the increase has been occurring for decades”, explained the vice-coordinator of the Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health at the University of São Paulo (Nupens/USP ), Maria Laura Louzada. The research evaluated the sociodemographic factors associated with the consumption of this type of food and the temporal evolution of consumption in Brazil between 2008 and 2018. Ultra-processed foods are ready-to-eat industrial formulations, made with numerous ingredients often obtained from high-yielding crops, such as sugars and syrups, refined starches, fats, protein isolates, in addition to the remains of intensively raised animals. These foods usually contain little or no whole food in their composition, in addition to being high in sugar and fat and lacking in fiber and micronutrients. Among them are soft drinks, packaged cookies, sweets and snacks, instant noodles, ready-to-heat foods, sweets, candies, chocolates and sausages such as ham, mortadella and others. Profile The study also pointed out that females, teenagers, white people, with higher income and education and residents of urban areas and the South and Southeast regions are the ones who consume the most ultra-processed products. Another data showed that about 20% of the calories consumed by Brazilians come from ultra-processed products. However, in the last ten years, the greatest increases in consumption were seen precisely among those who consume the least: black and indigenous people, residents of rural areas and the North and Northeast regions, as well as population groups with lower levels of education and income. The explanation for this growth is the changes in the globalized food system, characterized mainly by the growing penetration of these food companies in the country, according to the researcher. “Ultra-processed foods have always been promoted and touted incessantly with seductive messages that can lead people to believe that they are superior to traditional dishes like rice and beans and that they will make people happier. The increase in its consumption is due to a combination of factors, namely, a reduction in relative prices, an increase in supply in the most diverse shopping places, mainly due to the expansion of retail chains, shifting the population from the places where food is sold more traditional markets, such as grocery stores and fairs, and the growing penetration of transnational industries in more remote areas of the country.” Risks The conclusion of the study showed that Brazil is experiencing a trend towards national standardization and high consumption of ultra-processed products, with a consequent increase in risks to the health of the population. “Consistent research has shown the association between the high consumption of these foods and the risk of obesity and several chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal diseases. In addition, recent publications show that they are related to unprecedented environmental damage, contributing with a large part of greenhouse gas emissions and causing deforestation, soil degradation and massive loss of biodiversity”, warned Maria Laura. In the researcher’s view, to reverse the trend, it is enough to maintain the traditional Brazilian diet. “With luck, we still have a large part of our diet based on natural or minimally processed foods and their culinary preparations. That is, even with the growth of ultra-processed foods, our rice and beans still largely surpasses them”, she highlighted. “It is a great window of opportunity to reverse the negative trend. That is, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but rather, strengthen and rescue what we’ve been doing for many generations: a traditional diet based on in natura or minimally processed foods. But for that, public policies are urgent.” According to Maria Laura, who is dedicated to studying the effects of ultra-processing food on the living conditions and health of populations, certain actions could help to reduce the high consumption of this type of food. “To deal with this scenario, systemic and interconnected actions are needed so that people have access to healthy food: overtaxing of ultra-processed products, combined with subsidies for in natura or minimally processed foods, strict restriction of advertising – especially, but not only, for children – front labeling of warnings on food; prohibition of offering these foods in places of public interest such as schools and hospitals, in addition to mass educational campaigns to plead for people’s support for the implementation of actions”, defended the researcher. Methodology To carry out the study, the researchers used data on the food consumption of Brazilian men and women over 10 years of age from the Household Budget Surveys (POF) carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) between May 2008 and May 2009 and between July 2017 and July 2018.
Agência Brasil
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