Local trends in diet in urbanColombia, 1990–1995 to 2008: Little evidence of a nutrition transition among low‐income women

Abstract

The changes in diet among low-income women in Cali, Colombia between 1990-1995 and 2008 partially match national-level trends in food supply and the theoretical expectations of a nutrition transition, but are nonetheless a localized phenomenon. They do not help explain concurrent changes in body size.

Measuring Human Water Needs

“…While DLW allows for an assessment of water throughput, it does not distinguish what people are actually consuming to meet their water needs. As many studies in human biology show, diet is intimately connected to environmental resources, market resources, and globalization (Dufour, Bender, & Reina, ; Piperata et al, ; Sorensen et al, ). Dietary recall analyses reveal many important facets of inquiry to human biology research, including insight into population level snapshots and trends of water intake, dietary exposures and adaptations, and health outcomes (Leonard, ; Popkin et al, ).…”

Using the protein leverage hypothesis to understand socioeconomic variation in obesity

“…The macronutrient composition of the diet among low‐SES women, in which protein intake was towards the bottom of the recommended range and carbohydrate intake was toward the top was also observed in one of the only other studies to evaluate energy and macronutrient intake among low‐SES, urban, Latin American women. Dufour, Bender, and Reina, () reported protein intake as a proportion of total energy intake at the bottom of the recommended range (11.6%) and mean carbohydrate intake just above the top (66.5%). While the obesity literature has focused on Western dietary patterns, including increases in vegetable oil consumption, to explain secular trends in obesity (Popkin, ), fat intake was in the bottom half of the recommended range in low‐SES women in both Costa Rica and Colombia (Dufour, Bender, & Reina, ).…”

“…Dufour, Bender, and Reina, () reported protein intake as a proportion of total energy intake at the bottom of the recommended range (11.6%) and mean carbohydrate intake just above the top (66.5%). While the obesity literature has focused on Western dietary patterns, including increases in vegetable oil consumption, to explain secular trends in obesity (Popkin, ), fat intake was in the bottom half of the recommended range in low‐SES women in both Costa Rica and Colombia (Dufour, Bender, & Reina, ). Approximately half of dietary protein in both low‐SES populations came from ASFs.…”

Reflections on nutrition in biological anthropology

“…The last example is Dufour et al's () study of low‐income urban women in Cali, Colombia. This is an example of a nutrition transition unfolding in a well‐developed market economy.…”

“…They also found no change in total energy intake and an actual decline in the consumption of sugared beverages, often singled out as a leading contributor to obesity (Popkin et al, ). The authors point to economic constraints and food preferences as potential explanations for the minimal dietary changes observed (Dufour et al, ).…”