Secular changes in dietary patterns in the metropolitan areas of Brazil (1988-1996)

Objective A new family budget survey carried out in the mid-ninties in Brazil allows an update of the secular trends (1962-1988) of dietary patterns of Brazilia n population living in metropolitan areas. Methods Data source are IBGE Institute of Statistics family budget surveys carried out from March 1987 to February 1988 (13,611 households) and from October 1 995 to September 1996 (16,014 households) in all metropolitan areas of Braz il. The daily food availability per capita for each household was calculate d dividing the total food aquired in a month by the number of individuals l iving in a household and the month's number of days. Dietary patterns were characterized according to the amount of selected food groups and nutrients relative to the diet caloric input. Comparisons between the two surveys in cluded the metropolitan area population as a whole and subgroups from less (North and North-east) and more developed (Mid-west, Southeast and South) r egions. Results It was observed an increase in consumption of meat and products (except for butter) and a reduction in eggs consumption in both less and more developm ent regions. Beans, roots and tubers consumption showed a steady decline in the whole country while cereals consumption remained the same (higher in d eveloped regions) or had a slight increase (in less developed regions). the proportional consumption of vegetal oils and margarine remained constant i n the less developed regions but their consumption was greatly reduced in t he more developed ones. Conclusions An increase in the diet's lipid content in less developed regions and of sa turated fats in the country as a whole, associated with a decrease or even no consumption of beans, vegetables, fruits and complex carbohydrates, and a further increase in the excessive sugar consumption are the negative aspe cts of the trend observed from 1988 to 1996. Changes that may indicate a gr owing awareness of the population toward a healthier diet, such as a declin e in egg intake and a slight reduction in diets with a high total lipid con tent, were found only in more developed regions.