Consumption of ready-to-consume products and its association with overweight and obesity in Colombia

• Grant number: 13/08129-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: October 01, 2013
• End date: September 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Augusto Monteiro
• Grantee: Diana Celmira Parra Perez
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

High consumption of ready-to-consume products, either processed or ultra-processed, has been associated with overweight and obesity. The primary aim of this research is to document the consumption of ready-to-consume products and their association with overweight and obesity in Colombia. Using data from the Colombian National Nutrition Survey of 2005, we will estimate food consumption based on 24-hour dietary records from 39,413 men and women between the ages of 2 and 64 years. Consumption items reported in the survey are classified into three groups that take into account the nature, extent and purpose of industrial processing they have undergone: fresh food and minimally processed ingredients and culinary processed products, and ready to use ultra-processed or processed (Monteiro et al. 2012). The central indicator that follows from this classification is the percentage of total energy intake derived from ready to consume products (as opposed to that which comes from foods and preparations offood and cooking ingredients). We will also estimate the fraction of ready to consume products ingested as snacks or as main meals, and if they were consumed concomitantly or not with perishable food or minimally processed. The association between intake of ready to consume products and the incidence of overweight or obesity will be studied by regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, income, education, area of residence (rural or urban), geographic region, additional calories (derived from items not classified as products ready for consumption) and physical activity. Ingestion of ready to consume products will be studied as a continuous variable and categorized in quintiles according to their growing distribution in the population. Excess weight and obesity are characterized based on the value of Body Mass Index (BMI) calculated from the direct measurement of weight and height of studied subjects. In the case of adults, overweight and obesity will be diagnosed when BMI exceeds 25 kg/m2 or 30 kg/m2, respectively. For children, age-sex specific BMI values will be determined using +1 or +2 standard deviations from the reference score distribution to assess overweight and obesity, respectively, according to the World Health Organization. The proposed postdoctoral fellow will involve the participation in other activities and projects at the NUPENS / USP, including an international comparative study on consumption of ready to consume food products in high-income countries, middle and low, running with the collaboration of FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

JHON BEJARANO-RONCANCIO; EDNA MAGALY GAMBOA-DELGADO; DORA HILDA AYA-BAQUERO; DIANA C PARRA. Ultra-processed foods and beverages products entering Colombia through international trade agreements: Will they have an impact on the weight of colombians?. Rev. chil. nutr., v. 42, n. 4, p. 409-413, 2015-12-00. (13/08129-2)