According to research, the increase is due to the reduction of prices, expansion of supply and expansion of retail chains
In the last 10 years, the consumption of ultra-processed foods by Brazilians had an average increase of 5.5%. It indicates a study on the profile of consumers prepared by Nupens (Nucleus of Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health), from USP (University of São Paulo), responsible for Food Guide for the Brazilian Population. Here’s the full (260 KB).
The vice-coordinator of Nupens, Maria Laura Louzada, classified the increase as “significant”. According to the researcher, the data “corroborates other studies that evaluated purchases by Brazilian families since the 1980s, showing that the increase has been occurring for decades”. The study evaluated the sociodemographic factors associated with the consumption of this type of food and the temporal evolution of consumption in Brazil between 2008 and 2018.
Ultra-processed foods are ready-to-eat industrial formulations made with numerous ingredients, often obtained from high-yield crops, such as sugars and syrups, refined starches, fats and protein isolates, as well as the remains of intensively farmed animals.
Usually, ultra-processed foods contain little or no whole food in their composition. They are high in sugar and fat, and lacking in fiber and micronutrients. Among the most consumed types of foods are soft drinks, boxed cookies, instant noodles, ready-to-heat foods, sweets, candies, chocolates and sausages, such as ham, mortadella and others.
Profile
The study found that women, teenagers, white people, with higher income and education and residents of urban areas and the South and Southeast regions of the country are the ones who consume the most ultra-processed products. Another data showed that around 20% of the calories consumed by Brazilians come from this type of food.
However, in the last 10 years, the most significant increases in consumption were seen precisely among those who least had access: black and indigenous people, residents of rural areas and the North and Northeast regions, as well as population groups with lower levels of schooling and income.
The explanation for this growth is the changes in the globalized food system, characterized mainly by the growing penetration of the processed industries in Brazil, according to the researcher.
“Ultra-processed foods have always been promoted and touted incessantly with seductive messages that can trick people into believing that they are superior to traditional dishes like rice and beans and that they will make people happier.”, said Louzada.
“The increase in its consumption is due to a combination of factors, namely, a reduction in relative prices, an increase in supply in the most diverse shopping places, mainly due to the expansion of retail chains, moving the population away from the places where food is sold more traditional markets, such as grocery stores and fairs, and the growing penetration of transnational industries in more remote areas of the country”, he explained.
Scratchs
The conclusion of the study showed that Brazil is experiencing a trend of high national standardization in the consumption of ultra-processed foods, with a consequent increase in risks to the health of the population.
“Consistent research has shown the association between the high consumption of these foods and the risk of obesity and of several non-communicable chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal diseases. Furthermore, recent publications show that they are related to unprecedented environmental damage, contributing a large part of greenhouse gas emissions and causing deforestation, soil degradation and massive loss of biodiversity.e”, warned the researcher.
In Louzada’s view, to reverse the trend, it is enough to maintain traditional Brazilian food. “Luckily, we still have a large part of our diet based on natural or minimally processed foods in our culinary preparations. That is, even with the growth of ultra-processed foods, our rice and beans still largely surpass them.”, he highlighted.
She said that “it is a great window of opportunity to reverse the negative trend. That is, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but rather, strengthen and rescue what we’ve been doing for many generations: a diet traditionally based on in natura or minimally processed foods. But for that, public policies are urgent”.
The study suggests the promotion of “systemic and interconnected actions” so that everyone has access to healthy food. Louzada cited as an example:
- the overtaxation of the ultra-processed;
- food subsidies in natura or minimally processed;
- strict restriction of advertising, especially to children;
- front labeling of alerts;
- prohibiting the supply of these foods in places such as schools and hospitals;
- mass education campaigns to gain public support.
Methodology
To carry out the study, the researchers used data on the food consumption of Brazilian men and women over 10 years of age from the POF (Family Budget Surveys) carried out by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) between May 2008 and May 2009 and between July 2017 and July 2018.
With information from Brazil Agency.
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