Differences in food consumption of the Brazilian population by race/skin color in 2017-2018

• Main Authors: Janaína Calu Costa (Author), Amanda Cristina da Silva de Jesus (Author), Juliana Giaj Levra de Jesus (Author), Mariana Ferreira Madruga (Author), Thays Nascimento Souza (Author), Maria Laura da Costa Louzada (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo, 2023-02-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To evaluate food consumption in Brazil by race/skin color of the population. METHODS Food consumption data from the Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (POF - Household Budget Survey) 2017-2018 were analyzed. Food and culinary preparations were grouped into 31 items, composing three main groups, defined by industrial processing characteristics: 1 - in natura/minimally processed, 2 - processed, and 3 - ultra-processed. The percentage of calories from each group was estimated by categories of race/skin color - White, Black, Mixed-race, Indigenous, and Yellow- using crude and adjusted linear regression for gender, age, schooling, income, macro-region, and area. RESULTS In the crude analyses, the consumption of in natura/minimally processed foods was lower for Yellow [66.0% (95% Confidence Interval 62.4-69.6)] and White [66.6% (95%CI 66.1-67.1)] groups than for Blacks [69.8% (95%CI 68.9-70.8)] and Mixed-race people [70.2% (95%CI 69.7-70.7)]. Yellow individuals consumed fewer processed foods, with 9.2% of energy (95%CI 7.2-11.1) whereas the other groups consumed approximately 13%. Ultra-processed foods were less consumed by Blacks [16.6% (95%CI 15.6-17.6)] and Mixed-race [16.6% (95%CI 16.2-17.1)], with the highest consumption among White [20.1% (95%CI 19.6-20.6)] and Yellow [24.5% (95%CI 20.0-29.1)] groups. The adjustment of the models reduced the magnitude of the differences between the categories of race/skin color. The difference between Black and Mixed-race individuals from the White ones decreased from 3 percentage points (pp) to 1.2 pp in the consumption of in natura/minimally processed foods and the largest differences remained in the consumption of rice and beans, with a higher percentage in the diet of Black and Mixed-race people. The contribution of processed foods remained approximately 4 pp lower for Yellow individuals. The consumption of ultra-processed products decreased by approximately 2 pp for White and Yellow groups; on the other hand, it increased by 1 pp in the consumption of Black, Mixed-race, and Indigenous peoples. CONCLUSION Differences in food consumption according to race/skin color were found and are influenced by socioeconomic and demographic conditions.

Item Description

1518-8787
10.11606/s1518-8787.2023057004000