Deficient diet

Family income and educational level of parents influence the diets of adolescents, limiting intake of important nutrients in the combat against chronic illnesses says FSP-USP study.

By Mônica Pileggi

Agência FAPESP – Family income and educational level of parents influence the diets of adolescents, limiting intake of important nutrients in the combat against chronic illnesses like hypertension and diabetes.
This is the conclusion of a study performed in São Paulo city by the Universidade de São Paulo’s Public Health College (FSP-USP) together with the São Paulo Municipal Secretariat of Health, and published in Public Health Nutrition magazine.

The study was the topic of Eliseu Verly Junior’s master’s thesis, coordinated by Dirce Maria Lobo Marchioni with participation by Regina Mara Fisberg, both professors in the FSP-USP Department of Nutrition.

With the objective of evaluating the food consumption of 525 adolescents aged 14-18, the study was part of the São Paulo Municipal Health Inquiry (ISA), which aims to understand the city population’s epidemiological profile in greater detail.

The nutrient most inadequately consumed in this age bracket was vitamin E, which was found to be 99% deficient in the diet of both males and females. Magnesium was in second place, with 89% deficiency among male adolescents and 84% of females. Runners-up were vitamins A (78% and 71%), C (79% and 53%) and B6 (21% and 33%).

“There are a number of variables that determine the low consumption of those nutrients in this age bracket; family income per capita, for example. People in the low income group showed lower nutrient intake levels, including vitamins A, C, B6, B12, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin and riboflavin” Verly told Agência FAPESP.

“This happens because usually people of this age bracket consume low quantities of fruits, greens and vegetables, which are important sources of nutrients,” said Verly, who is currently doing his doctorate at FSP-USP.

"Financial conditions restrict the access to food and therefore, a more adequate diet. This means the less fortunate have poorer nutritional conditions,” Fisberg pointed out.

The study also found that deficiency in the diet had to do with the educational level of the parents. The data showed that less schooling was associated with greater prevalence of inadequate intake of the same nutrients as low income youth.

According to Fisberg, the data presented could help future stimulus programs for the consumption of nutrient-rich foods—fruits, vegetables, cereals among others—aimed at the low-income population.

The article Socio-economic variables influence the prevalence of inadequate nutrient intake in Brazilian adolescents: results from a population-based survey (doi:10.1017/S1368980011000760), by Eliseu Verly Júnior, Regina Mara Fisberg, Dirce Maria Lobo Marchioni and Chester Luiz Galvão César can be read by subscribers to Public Health Nutrition at http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8347250&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S1368980011000760.