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Brazilian children’s dietary intake in relation to Brazil’s new nutrition guidelines: a systematic review
The aim of this 2019 article was to describe the dietary consumption of children and adolescents from Brazil. This research team gathered evidence by using Brazil’s new food classification system (NOVA), a tool that classifies foods according to the level it has been processed. Studies with other intake descriptors were also included because there were not many studies that implemented the NOVA classification system. The research using the NOVA system revealed substantially high intakes of ultra-processed foods than of minimally processed foods. Whereas those using other methods of dietary assessments showed high consumption of foods high in fats, sugars, and sodium, as well as high intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The available literature had inconsistencies and variations in study definitions and methods, making it difficult to confidently make conclusions on the diet of Brazilian children and adolescents. It appears that another tool needs to be developed to analyze the complexities of dietary intake. This novel tool would need to be capable of describing dietary status among Brazilian children, and of evaluating the success of nutrition education programs. [NPID: food classification, children, adolescents, Brazil, Brazilian, diet, processed foods]
Year: 2019
