Clustering of unhealthy food habits and its association with socioeconomic factors among Brazilian workers

Abstract

A B S T R A C T ObjectiveInvestigate the clustering of four unhealthy food habits (low intake of fruits, low intake of vegetables, high intake of candy, and high intake of fried snacks), and to identify the association between the number of these clustered habits and sociodemographic variables. MethodsThis was a cross-sectional representative study of industrial workers from 24 Federative Units in Brazil conducted between 2006 and 2008. The low weekly intake of fruits and vegetables (<5 days/week) and high weekly intake of candy and fried snacks (≥5 days/weeks) were evaluated using a validated questionnaire. Simultaneity was analyzed with stratification by sex, calculating the Observed (O) and Expected (E) prevalence and the O/E ratio for each of the 16 possible food intake combinations. ResultsAmong the 47,477 workers studied, in both men and women, the simultaneous presence of high weekly intake of candy and fried snacks(O/E=3.58; 95%CI=3.12-4.10 and O/E=2.17; 95%CI=1.76-2.62) and of the four ConclusionUnhealthy food habits tend to cluster together in both sexes, suggesting a strong interaction, particularly for the four unhealthy food habits together, especially among women, less educated workers and without a partner.Keywords: Epidemiological studies. Feeding behavior. Occupational Health. ,58; IC95%=3,10 e O/E=2,17; IC95%=1,62) R E S U M O Objetivo Investigar o agrupamento de quatro hábitos alimentares não saudáveis (baixo consumo de fruta, baixo consumo de verdura, alto consumo de doce e alto consumo de salgadinho), e identificar a associação entre a quantidade desses hábitos agrupados e variáveis sociodemográficas. Métodos Esse foi um estudo transversal e representativo de trabalhadores das indústrias de 24 Unidades Federativas do Brasil, realizado de 2006 e 2008. Os baixos consumos semanais de fruta e verdura (<5 dias/semana) e os altos consumos semanais de doce e salgadinho (>5 dias/semana) foram avaliados por questionário validado. A simultaneidade foi analisada com estratificação por sexo, conforme a prevalência Observada (O), Esperada (E), Razão (O/E) para cada uma das 16 combinações possíveis de consumo alimentar. Resultados Nos 47.477 trabalhadores investigados, tanto em homens quanto em mulheres, respectivamente, a presença simultânea alto consumo semanal de doce e salgadinho (O/E=3 I N T R O D U C T I O NThe eating habits of populations have undergone marked changes in recent decades, mainly as a result of the reduced consumption of natural foods such as fruits and vegetables [1] and the increased consumption of processed foods, especially ready meals and away-fromhome food. In Brazil, eating out accounts for about 31% of food expenditure [2].An unhealthy diet is characterized by an energy imbalance caused by a poor variety of foods and by an excessive consumption of fats and simple sugars. A high intake of salt, sugary foods and saturated fats and a low intake of fruits and vegetables are examples of unhealthy food habits. These behaviors pose a health risk since they are associated with a h...

Segmenting Hungarian people based on healthy eating

“…More international studies focused on clustering adult population based on healthy eating or lifestyle. Benedet et al (2017) concentrated on unhealthy food habits and Anrdé et al categorized senior Norwegian citizens based on similarities of food consumption. This research focused on the healthy eating style of Hungarian adults.…”

“…Among international researches more empirical results could be found that investigated a special consumer group (Tanton et al 2015;André et al 2017;Benedet et al 2017). Tanton et al (2015) analyzed the eating behavior of British university students whose lifestyle is considered to be risky when it comes about eating.…”

“…The second group of people consumed more fruit, vegetable, boiled potato, oily fish, whole-grain bread and water. Benedet et al (2017) used clustering of four unhealthy food habits (low intake of fruits, low intake of vegetables, high intake of candy, and high intake of fried snacks) among Brazilian workers. They found that unhealthy food habits were more frequent among women workers with a lower education level, and those living without a partner.…”

“…However there were no gender differences in this empirical research. More studies (Benedet et al 2017;Vries et al 2008;LV et al 2011) emphasized the importance of education level in healthy lifestyle. However in this study the level of education was not investigated.…”

Análise da ingestão de vitaminas hidrossolúveis por mulheres teleatendidas em consulta nutricional por clínica escola de Belo Horizonte - MG, durante o período de isolamento social devido à pandemia de Covid-19 / Analysis of the intake of water-soluble vitamins by women teleadvised at a nutritional clinic in Belo Horizonte - MG, during the period of social isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic

“…Dietas com baixa variedade de alimentos e alto consumo de processados e ultraprocessados frequentemente estão associadas à ingestão deficiente de vitaminas hidrossolúveis, o que pode desencadear riscos à saúde de indivíduos de qualquer idade, bem como aumentar o risco de surgimentos de morbidades associadas (GABE, 2020;BENEDET et al, 2017).…”