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Objective: To evaluate the characteristics and factors associated with the intake of ultra-processed cariogenic foods (UFC) by preschoolers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving parents of 672 children from two to five years old enrolled at public schools in Curitiba, Brazil. Parents answered a questionnaire about socioeconomic and demographic data, their behavior regarding the dietary education of their children (Parent Mealtime Action Scale - translated and validated for use in Brazil), and children's food intake (qualitative food frequency questionnaire - list of foods based on a report from the Pan American Health Organization). The data were analyzed using Poisson regression analysis (α=0.05). Results: About 43% of parents/guardians reported changes in their children's diet during the pandemic, being that diet got worse and better in 19% and 24% of the cases, respectively. The ultra-processed cariogenic foods with the highest daily intake frequencies were sweetened juices/sweetened drinks (0.52), followed by cookies (0.37), and candies (0.35). Parents with a lower level of education reported a daily frequency of UCF intake 1.36 times higher (PR=1.359; CI 95%: 1.106-1.669) in their children compared to those with a higher level of education. On the other hand, parents’/guardians’ report of higher intake and greater offer of fruits and vegetables to children was associated with low UCF intake (PR=0.716; CI 95%: 0.592-0.866). Conclusion: The lower level of formal education of parents/guardians and lower availability of fruits and vegetables were related to higher consumption of ultra-processed cariogenic foods by children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: The elderly population is susceptible to changes in nutritional status due to factors related to socioeconomic and physiological changes; however, studies that evaluated the current dietary status of the elderly in Brazil are still scarce. Objective: To evaluate the quality of the diet of non-institutionalized elderly women from a capital city in southern Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, with 174 convenience sampled elderly women. Food intake was assessed by means of a three-day dietary record. Diet quality was assessed through the Diet Quality Index - Revised (IQD-R) adapted for the Brazilian population. Results: This work showed that 56.9% (n=99), 40.8% (n=71), and 2.3% (n=4) of the diets of the participants were classified as "needs modification", "healthy", and "inadequate", respectively. The mean score obtained through the IQD-R was 62.5 (± 9.6), with a minimum of 30.2 points and a maximum of 84.9 points. In the analysis of food group consumption, there was a low score for saturated fat (9.96±0.50), mono and polyunsaturated fats (1.08±2.21), whole grains (1.7±1.54), sodium (7.31±2.27), and a higher score for the total grains group (4.61±0.54). Conclusion: Most of the elderly women assessed needed improvement in the quality of their diets, with emphasis on the consumption of whole grains and mono and polyunsaturated fats, but with adequate intake of saturated fat and sodium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective. To assess the consumption of ultra-processed foods, the NOVA classification was created. The aim of the present study was to verify the presence of information on food processing in food surveys and their contribution to the NOVA classification. Methods. For this purpose, data were collected from dietary surveys previously collected in four Brazilian studies that contemplate different methods of data collection. The foods were grouped according to a NOVA classification, and also in a group called 'uncertainty'. The daily energy intake of each group was estimated, as well as the energy contribution. Three different scenarios were created according to the degree of uncertainty. preliminary, most probable, and counter-hypothesis, which assumes the lowest possible degree of processing for foods that were described in a generic way and remained uncertain in the classification. Results. The descriptors that indicate some kind of food processing were present in 29.2; 3.3; 4.2 and 24.4% of the foods mentioned in VALIDA, POF, QFA-SUL, and EMDI respectively. The average contribution from the uncertainty group in VALIDA, POF, QFA-SUL, and EMDI was 38.6; 35.9; 34.1, and 26.7% of the total consumed, respectively. Considering the three scenarios, it appears that the evolution of the uncertainties from the QFA-SUL study was not as expressive as in the other studies. In the EMDI study, even in cases of uncertainty, more elements were provided to assume what was most likely for each case, which led to a large reduction in uncertainty in the most probable scenario. When descriptors were combined, the food processing information became more precise. Conclusions. It is important that foods with an ultra-processed industrial equivalent are carefully collected, as it is the group with larger doubts. Different scenarios in the evaluation of food consumption can influence the results, under or overestimating the participation of specific groups of NOVA in the total energy intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición is the property of Sociedad Latinoamericana de Nutricion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)