Fruits and vegetables intake and characteristics associated among adolescents from Southern Brazil

Marta A Rieth,Flávio D Fuchs,Marina B Moreira,Leila B Moreira,Sandra C Fuchs

doi:10.1186/1475-2891-11-95

Abstract

BackgroundIncreased body weight has been associated with an unhealthy diet, low consumption of fruits and vegetables. Our objective was to investigate whether adolescents had low intake of fruits and vegetables, and whether gender, age and education could affect the feeding patterns.MethodsA population-based sample of adolescents, aged 12–19 years, were randomly selected in southern Brazil and included in this cross-sectional study. The total daily consumption of fruits, vegetables, rice and beans were investigated in standardized household interviews, using a food frequency questionnaire and questions, being categorized as five or more servings per day as the five-a-day diet. ANOVA, ANCOVA, and modified Poisson regression were used in the analysis.ResultsAdolescents (n = 568) were included, 49.5% boys, 14.3% had overweight and 8.8% obesity. Approximately 23% of participants consumed five daily servings of fruits and vegetables. It was observed that 36.7% of boys and 31.0% of girls consumed less than one serving of fruit per day, and 58.4% and 44.6%, respectively, consumed less than one serving of vegetables. The consumption of vegetables, fruits, and rice and beans were not independently associated with gender. Overweight was associated with higher intake of five-a-day, independently of confounding factors.ConclusionsAdolescents from southern Brazil have lower frequency of consumption of five servings a day of fruits and vegetables combined.

Highlights

Increased body weight has been associated with an unhealthy diet, low consumption of fruits and vegetables
Since the late 1970s [3], the increasing trend of overweight seems to have reached a state of equilibrium among American adolescents [4], which was similar to the observed in Brazil [5]
The aim of this study was to assess the intake of fruits, vegetables and five-a-day and their association with socio-demographic characteristics among adolescents in southern Brazil

Summary

Introduction

Increased body weight has been associated with an unhealthy diet, low consumption of fruits and vegetables. Our objective was to investigate whether adolescents had low intake of fruits and vegetables, and whether gender, age and education could affect the feeding patterns. Excessive weight gain surpassed malnutrition in adolescents worldwide [1,2]. Several components of the diet have been investigated as determinants of the body weight gain in adolescents, The five-a-day program, initiated in the United States [17] and implemented in several countries, was created to promote fruit and vegetable consumption and augment people’s exposure in order to revert the increase of obesity-related diseases. The intake of at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day has been recommended to reach this goal. Varying the colors of fruits and vegetables is more likely that adequate intake of vitamins and other nutrients is achieved [19]

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Conclusion