Temporal variation in food consumption of Brazilian adolescents (2009-2015)

BACKGROUND: Worldwide population has been increasingly exposed to ultra-processed foods, which are associated with obesity. Adolescence is a transition period of life and WHO recommends the surveillance of risk factors to the adolescents’ health, such as diet, because experiences in this phase can result in health risks. OBJECTIVE: To assess the trends in food consumption of adolescents from Brazilian capitals according to sociodemographic variables, based on data from the National Survey of School Health (PeNSE). METHODS: Data from in 2009, 2012 and 2015 of a total of 173,310 9(th) graders enrolled in public and private schools in Brazilian capitals and in the Federal District were assessed. Food consumption was assessed from regular consumption (five or more times a week) of healthy eating markers (beans; vegetables; fruit) and unhealthy eating markers (sweets; soft drinks; fried salty snacks). For sociodemographic variables, we considered macro regions; age; race/ skin color; gender; school administrative status. We assessed these markers trends for the population and, additionally, the analyses were stratified by gender, race/ skin color, and school administrative status. Statistical significance of the temporal trends was assessed by linear regression model. RESULTS: Over six years, three types of change in Brazilian adolescents’ diet were observed: decreasing regular consumption of beans, sweets and soft drinks, increasing regular consumption of vegetables, and stable consumption of fruit and fried salty snacks. CONCLUSION: Brazilian adolescents’ diet composition has changed in a short period, and therefore it is necessary to monitor it to propose actions aimed at this public.