Consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados e excesso de peso em vegetarianos brasileiros

Abstract

Given the above scenario, where there is a rise in vegetarian practice and the monitoring of the industry about this trend, providing a greater availability of food products for this public, there is also an increase in the commercialization and consumption of UPF throughout the population. The adoption of harmful eating habits can lead to changes in the health situation of all individuals, including vegetarians, such as weight gain and the presence of CNCDs. In this context, it is inferred that there is adherence to these new eating habits also in individuals who adhere to vegetarian diets, leaving them exposed to the same risks as omnivores. Thus, it is necessary to investigate this consumption in the vegetarian population and the relationship between exposure to this type of food and being overweight. Therefore, a literature review chapter and an original article were prepared. The review chapter addresses issues related to vegetarianism and its growth in the population, the main issues related to UPF consumption and overweight, such as prevalence, related factors, and strategies for coping with the problem. The main article aimed to analyze the association between UPF consumption and overweight in Brazilian vegetarians. This is a cross-sectional study with electronic data collection, with questions related to the characterization of the population and a food frequency questionnaire. Generalized linear models were performed, with estimates presented in terms of prevalence (PR) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). The prevalence of overweight in the population studied was 26.2% (95% CI 23.3-29.1). The median consumption of UPF was 1.8 times a day (1.0 – 3.1 IIQ), with higher consumption in the egg-lacto, egg or lacto-vegetarian group and in the group with less than 1 year of vegetarian practice. UPF consumption was positively associated with excess weight (PR 1.08 [1.01; 1.17 95%CI]). Among the variables used to adjust the model, age (PR 1.02 [CI 95% 1.02-1.03]), region (PR 1.34 [CI 95% 1.06- 1.71]) of more than 3 meals a day away from home (PR 1.56 [1.09-2.24]) and time of vegetarianism (PR 0.66 [CI 95% 0.51-0.87]) were associated with overweight in vegetarian adults. The present study suggests that vegetarians are exposed to the same risks as omnivores of including these foods in the diet, leading to reduced quality and excess weight. These findings demonstrate the need for strategies that contribute to reducing the consumption and commercialization of ultra-processed foods, both individually and collectively.