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The purpose of this study was to estimate the association between environmental variables and leisure-time physical activity levels in an adult population of a medium-sized city in Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study with a sample of 965 adults (20-59 years). Individual, socioeconomic, demographic and behavioral data were obtained through a population-based survey. Environmental data were collected through direct observation and subsequently georeferenced. The outcome variable was leisure-time physical activity level, dichotomized as insufficiently active (<150 min/week) and active (≥150 min/week). Physical activity-related facilities were categorized as public or private, and food outlets as healthy, unhealthy or mixed. Monthly per capita income and crime rate by census tract were used to categorize the social environment. Statistical analysis was performed using binary logistic regression (generalized estimating equation models). A direct association was found between the availability of public (adjusted OR = 2.16; 95% CI = 1.44-3.25) and private (adjusted OR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.02-1.44) physical activity facilities in the census tract and leisure-time physical activity. A greater availability of mixed food establishments was associated with higher leisure-time physical activity levels (adjusted OR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.004-1.22). Environmental characteristics can contribute together to leisure-time physical activity and could be the focus of policies aimed at promoting physical activity in middle-income countries., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Cooking is crucial to the achievement of healthy eating habits, and the internet, as host of culinary recipes websites, is a medium for the dissemination of cooking-related content. Research has revealed that most recipes available on internet sites do not have healthy characteristics when compared to recommendations for healthy eating, even the ones promoted as 'healthy'. This study investigated culinary recipes available on the 'healthy eating' section of a popular Brazilian recipe-sharing website. Recipes ( n = 814) were analyzed with a validated framework based on national dietary guidelines. Ingredients ( n = 5887) were classified according to the extension and purpose of their industrial processing. The recipes' titles were content analyzed to identify the health-related words and phrases used. Recipes contained ultra-processed foods and not enough unprocessed or minimally processed foods, such as legumes (4.7%, n = 380), nuts and seeds (18.4%, n = 150), and fruits ( n = 32.7%, n = 263). The recipes' titles mentioned 564 health-related terms, appealing to physical characteristics, including weight loss, and fads, such as gluten-free, dukan, low-carb, detox, fitness, ripped body, and belly burner. Therefore, the 'healthy' recipes available on the Brazilian recipe-sharing website presented many aspects not in accordance with national dietary guidelines.

Social media platforms are readily accessible sources of information about cooking, an activity deemed crucial for the improvement of a population's diet. Previous research focused on the healthiness of the content shared on websites and blogs, but not on social media such as YouTube ® . This paper analysed the healthiness of 823 culinary recipes retrieved from 755 videos shared during a six-month period on ten popular Brazilian YouTube ® cooking channels. Recipes were categorized by type of preparation. To assess recipes' healthiness, ingredients were classified according to the extension and purpose of industrial processing, in order to identify the use of ultra-processed foods. Additionally, a validated framework developed from criteria established in both editions of the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population was employed. Recipes for cakes and baked goods, puddings, snacks and homemade fast foods, which were among the most frequently posted, contained the lowest proportion of unprocessed/minimally processed ingredients and the highest proportion of ultra-processed ingredients. Recipes containing whole cereals, fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds were scarce. Results indicate that users should be critical about the quality of recipes shared on YouTube ® videos, also indicating a need for strategies aimed at informing individuals on how to choose healthier recipes or adapt them to become healthier.

Previous research on foods advertised in supermarket circulars revealed that advertisement for foods at promotional prices influence food choices and shopping behaviour, but no paper reporting the Latin American context was identified. Furthermore, most studies only assessed the products advertised on the front pages and not in the entire circulars. This paper quantifies and categorizes, according to level of processing, the foods advertised in circulars from four Brazilian supermarket chains in order to assess their compatibility with the national dietary guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health. Printed and online circulars were collected between June and July 2016. Foods items advertised were identified and classified into one of four categories using the NOVA classification as unprocessed or minimally processed, processed culinary ingredient, processed or ultra-processed. Sixteen documents were analysed, and 1786 food items identified, where 23% were categorized as unprocessed or minimally processed, and 63% as ultra-processed foods. While the mean proportion of ultra-processed and unprocessed or minimally processed foods advertised on circular covers was similar (p = 0.49), the mean proportion of ultra-processed foods advertised in the entire circular was significantly higher than unprocessed or minimally processed foods (p < 0.001). Brazilian supermarket circulars are stimulating the acquisition of ultra-processed foods, which does not encourage food choices to be in line with what is recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Planning is an essential component of home meal preparation. While level of health consciousness permeates both activities, this relationship is underexplored in the scientific literature. Using a mixed-methods convergent parallel design this study identified the reasoning behind meal planning and compared the characteristics of meals planned by high and low health-conscious adults during a simulated shopping task in a supermarket store. Participants were assigned a task where they were asked to choose ingredients to prepare a hot evening meal for a last-minute guest. High Health Conscious (HHC) participants planned healthier meals with more whole grains/breads/pasta, fruits, and vegetables than Low Health Conscious (LHC) participants. HHC participants mentioned not only health-related motives, but also ingredients' characteristics and cooking habits as influencers of their choices. LHC individuals focused on their own preferences, acknowledged that they struggled with the skills needed to prepare a meal and considered the presence of a guest as the only reason why they would prepare a meal. The mixed methods approach enabled us to link the participants' reasoning with the quantitative differences between meals planned by them - HHC individuals planned healthier meals and manifested closeness to the act of cooking. This suggests that the link between health interest and learning how to cook deserves to be further explored., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To investigate the association between per capita pesticide consumption and infant mortality rates from CNS and CVS congenital malformations in microregions in the South and Southeast Region of Brazil., Material and Methods: An ecological study was conducted using data on pesticide expenditure in 1985 and 1996, and deaths caused by CNS and CVS malformations in infants under 1 year old in 1986-1990 and 1997-2001, respectively. Per capita pesticide consumption and infant mortality rates were calculated for each microregion. Microregions were grouped according to quintiles of pesticide consumption, taking the first quintile as reference. The association between pesticide consumption and infant mortality was examined by calculating Spearman correlation coefficients (r) and mortality rate ratios (RR), stratifying by gender and type of microregion (urban or rural)., Results: Significant and positive correlations between per capita pesticide consumption and rates of mortality due to CNS and CVS defects were observed in rural but not urban microregions. In general, mortality RRs for the 2 types of malformations in rural microregions were significantly higher in each quintile of pesticide consumption compared to the lowest quintile in the 2 study periods, with elevations ranging between 10% and 30%. Likewise, mortality RRs in these microregions showed significant trends of increase across quintiles of pesticide consumption in both study periods. In urban areas, however, mortality RRs from both CNS and CVS malformations were weak and not statistically significant, and a trend of increase of mortality with increasing pesticide usage was not observed., Conclusions: The results show the relevance of pesticide exposure in rural areas with intense agricultural activity, suggesting that such prenatal exposures may be related with the occurrence of certain congenital defects.

This study evaluated the working conditions of Chagas' disease patients in the city of Campinas, São Paulo, focusing on two-hundred-fifty patients with steady employment and treated at the University Hospital (HC-FCM/Unicamp): 98% were working-age and 77.6% were men. The origin of the patients reflected the migratory process occurring among this population. Most of the patients had limited professional skills, while 63.6% had not finished primary school and 21.6% were illiterate. However, 63.6% were regularly employed under duly processed work contracts. Their jobs were mainly in general services (21.6%) and heavy industry (21.2%). Some 55% of the patients reported a monthly income less than or equal to U$100.00, and 40.4% reported having been fired at least once during the last ten years, in 8.9% of the cases because of a diagnosis of Chagas' disease. Of the patients undergoing pre-hiring physical examinations (57.2%), 9.1% were refused, 92.3% of whom due to positive serology for T. cruzi. Finally, 78.4% reported not belonging to a labor union. The study demonstrated the precarious working conditions and discrimination experienced by workers with Chagas' disease.