Pineda, Adriana Marcela Ruiz, Cifuentes, Maite Catalina Agudelo, Montoya, Luz Marina Arboleda, Leal, Vanessa Sá, de Souza, Nathália Paula, and de Lira, Pedro Israel Cabral
Background: The present study aimed to describe the dietary patterns of a population from Brazil and another from Colombia with respect to understanding their determinants, similarities and differences. Methods: An analytical cross‐sectional study was conducted based on secondary data. The dietary patterns of the adult population of Pernambuco, Brazil, as well as those of the adult population of Antioquia, Colombia, were analysed using principal component analysis method with orthogonal varimax rotation, and a Poisson regression with robust variance was used to verify the association between eating patterns and socio‐economic variables. Results: In each population, three eating patterns were identified. One of them related to healthy eating, named "Prudent", was identified in the two populations analysed. In Pernambuco, a food pattern consisting exclusively of foods with some degree of processing was verified, entitled "Processed". The food culture was reflected in the pattern called "Traditional‐Regional" in Pernambuco and the "Traditional" and "Regional" patterns in Antioquia. Conclusions: Income, education, age, family size, food security status and area of residence were presented as determinants of dietary patterns in both populations. Elements of the food transition were found, which seems to have happened more rapidly in Pernambuco. The food groups that make up the dietary patterns of each population are similar, but the foods that constitute them present differences due to their availability depending on aspects such as climate, soil quality, access to water, local culture and food tradition. Key points: The present study describes the dietary patterns of a population from Brazil and another from Colombia and seeks to understand their determinants, similarities and differences.In each population, three eating patterns were identified; three patterns related to food culture, a "Healthy" pattern in both populations and a "Processed" pattern just in one.Some elements of the food transition were found, which appears to have occured more rapidly in one of these populations, more than in the other.The food groups that compose the dietary patterns in both populations are similar, but there are some differences in the foods that are part of these groups, due to their availability depending on aspects such as climate, soil quality, access to water and local food culture.Traditional food patterns persist associated to the foods available in the regions, which are part of the people's cultural heritage and have accessible cost to the majority of the population, so local food tradition can be strengthened, to improve population's health and maintain biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]