The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between eating patterns and body mass index (BMI) in children and adolescents. This is a cross-sectional study of 1,247 male and female students, aged between 6 and 12, from public elementary schools in São Francisco do Conde, Bahia State, Brasil. BMI was used to analyze the children’s nutritional status. Food consumption frequencies, in addition to demographic and socioeconomic information, were collected for each participant. Dietary patterns were identified through a factor analysis. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 17.3% (10.2% overweight and 7.1% obese). Two eating patterns, “obesogenic” and “prudent”, were identified. The former is characterized by sweets and sugars, typical Brazilian dishes, pastries, fast food, oils, milk, cereals, cakes, and sauces, and was positively associated with increased BMI (ßi = 0.244; p = 0.018). An “obesogenic” dietary pattern was associated with increased BMI.

Objective: To evaluate the association between food and nutrition insecurity and asthma in children from Latin America. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: São Francisco do Conde, Bahia, north-eastern Brazil. Subjects: The study included 1307 children aged 6-12 years from public elementary schools. Asthma symptoms were collected using a questionnaire that was translated and adapted from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, phase III. The diagnosis of asthma was determined based on reports of wheezing in the previous 12 months. The Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale was used to identify food insecurity. We also obtained demographic, socio-economic and anthropometric information for each participant. We used multivariate logistic regression analyses to assess the associations of interest. Results: Of the children surveyed, 10?4 % had a history of wheezing and 64?5 % had some degree of food and nutrition insecurity. We found a positive dose-response relationship and statistically significant associations of asthma with moderate (OR 5 1?71, 95 % CI 1?01, 2?89) and severe (OR 5 2?51, 95 % CI 1?28, 4?93) food and nutrition insecurity. Conclusions: The results show that moderate and severe food and nutrition insecurity are markers of vulnerability to wheezing. It is important to note that the results of studies in this field have potential implications for social policies that promote food security. Further studies to identify the mechanisms involved in the relationship between food and nutrition insecurity and asthma are needed.

To assess the influence of dietary patterns on the prevalence of wheezing in the child and adolescent population in Northeastern Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study of male and female students, 6-12 years old, from the public elementary schools of Sã o Francisco do Conde, Bahia, Northeastern Brazil. The report of wheezing in the past 12 months was collected using a questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Program phase III, adapted to Portuguese. Consumption patterns were derived from principal component analysis based on the frequency of consumption of 97 food items by the food frequency questionnaire. We also obtained the anthropometric status, level of physical activity, pubertal development, and socioeconomic information, for each participant. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the associations of interest. Of the children surveyed, 10.6% reported having wheezing. We identified 2 dietary patterns named Western and Prudent. We found a positive statistically significant association of the Western pattern with wheeze (odds ratio = 1.77, 95% confidence interval: 1.10-2.84) after adjustment for total energy intake and controlling for potential confounders. The results showed that the Western dietary pattern was associated with wheezing. Our result is according with previous findings reported in several other studies.

The results suggest that an excess of fat deposits, either in the abdominal region or elsewhere in the body, increased the risk of wheezing. Since obesity is an important public health problem worldwide, control of this problem may partially reduce the occurrence of wheezing in youth.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of dietary patterns on the occurrence of dental caries. Using a population-based, cross-sectional study design, we assessed a sample of 1.439 children aged 6-13 years who were enrolled in public schools in the municipality of São Francisco do Conde, Bahia state, Brazil. Oral examinations for dental caries were performed by two dental surgeons (Kappa = 0.72) in the school environment under natural light with the aid of a wooden spatula and gauze. Dietary intake was assessed using the qualitative-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. A questionnaire on the demographic and socioeconomic conditions was applied to the families. The Poisson multivariate analysis was performed for statistical purposes. Considering both dentitions, the prevalence of caries was 82.14% and 37.3% in the permanent and deciduous dentitions, respectively. The identified dietary patterns were classified into “standard obesogenic" and "prudent." The results showed statistically significant association between the obesogenic dietary pattern and dental caries; the proportion of students with dental caries was 1.4 times higher among those who most frequently consumed foods that constitute a standard obesogenic diet (PR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.04-1.96) compared to those who less frequently consumed these types of foods. A positive association between the obesogenic dietary pattern and dental caries was found in the students investigated. Therefore, the promotion of healthy eating habits and nutritional habits should be encouraged to prevent dental caries in children and adolescents.

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OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of nutrition intervention actions on the lipid profile of children and adolescents enrolled in public elementary schools. METHODS: This nine-month, controlled, intervention study included 202 students aged 7 to 14 years attending two schools (intervention/control) located in a poor neighborhood of the municipality of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Actions were implemented in the intervention school to promote healthy eating habits, presented as "Ten steps to healthy eating". The effect of these actions was assessed by subjecting the students at baseline and end of the follow-up to biochemical, maturation, and anthropometric measurements and a produce intake survey. The dependent variables were the changes in the study biochemical parameters: total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and triglycerides. Analysis of covariance assessed the changes that occurred over the study period. RESULTS: The mean total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and triglycerides of the intervention students decreased 13.18 mg/dL (p=0.001), 7.41 mg/dL (p=0.038), and 12.37 mg/dL (p=0.029), respectively, compared with the control students. CONCLUSION: Actions of this nature have a positive impact on lipid profile. This study adds to those that use effective and viable public health strategies implementable at the primary care level.

The growing demand for gluten-free foods, by people seeking more healthiness or who have dietary restrictions, has led to the acquisition of gluten-free foods. However, the development of gluten-free foods is a challenge due to the reduced nutritional value, requiring enrichment from other plant sources. A technological prospection study was carried out on the use of vegetables in the development of gluten-free food products, from October 10 to 18, 2020, by surveying technological information available in national and international patent databases, INPI and ESPACENET, respectively. Search strategies were defined using the association of keywords and international codes relevant to the topic. The results obtained in the international patent base differed by 490% in the period from 2001 to 2020, when compared with the national database. China stands out as a technology-dominated country, followed by the United States, Canada and Japan. Prospecting based on the number of patent filings revealed a 298% growth trend for gluten-free products, from 2001 to 2020, according to the international patent base, which emerges as an innovative alternative to meet the trends of the food market for the coming years.