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 Brazilian 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 1995 to September 1996 (16,014 households) in all metropolitan areas of Brazil. The daily food availability per capita for each household was calculated dividing the total food aquired in a month by the number of individuals living 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 included the metropolitan area population as a whole and subgroups from less (North and North-east) and more developed (Mid-west, Southeast and South) regions. 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 development regions. Beans, roots and tubers consumption showed a steady decline in the whole country while cereals consumption remained the same (higher in developed regions) or had a slight increase (in less developed regions). the proportional consumption of vegetal oils and margarine remained constant in the less developed regions but their consumption was greatly reduced in the more developed ones. Conclusions An increase in the diet's lipid content in less developed regions and of saturated 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 aspects of the trend observed from 1988 to 1996. Changes that may indicate a growing awareness of the population toward a healthier diet, such as a decline in egg intake and a slight reduction in diets with a high total lipid content, were found only in more developed regions.