Dietary patterns of Brazilian farmers and their relation with sociodemographic, labor, and lifestyle conditions

BACKGROUND: The eating habits have changed in the last few decades, but few studies prioritize the food consumption of farmers and the rural population. Therefore, the objective of this study was explore the sociodemographic, occupational and lifestyle factors to the high adherence these dietary patterns. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional epidemiological study of 740 farmers (51.5%, n = 381 males; 48.5%, n = 359 females) from a municipality in Southeastern Brazil. Food intake data were obtained by applying multipass 24-h recall and dietary intake was presented in dietary patterns determined by Principal Component Analysis with varimax orthogonal rotation. RESULTS: Three dietary patterns were identified. The first pattern, “local traditional”, was associated with sociodemographic and labor variables, being considered typical of the region’s farmer as white race/color (p = 0.003), not extra-physical activity (p = 0.014) and cultivating 5 or more crops (p = 0.005). The permanence of a “traditional Brazilian” pattern and the occurrence of an “industrialized” pattern were also observed. Farmers working in non-conventional agriculture were 54% less adhere to “traditional Brazilian” pattern (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.25–0.86, p = 0.014). Individuals aged 50 and over years were 82% less likely (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.10–0.30) to adhere to “industrialized” pattern. Still, individuals of lower socioeconomic class were 52% less likely to adhere to this pattern (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.24–0.96). Farmers who spent R$ 200 or more per capita to buy food were more than twice as likely to adhere to this food pattern (OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.32–3.73), and who had the habit of frequently eating out were 1.62 as likely adhere to “industrialized” pattern (95% CI 1.11–2.36). CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate changes in dietary patterns in rural areas of the country, maintaining a traditional Brazilian pattern, as well as a local and an industrialized pattern. This last pattern demonstrates that the contemporary rural population also opts for a diet with ultra-processed products, being associated with the characteristic habits of a more urbanized rural region.