Diet quality and associated factors in Brazilian undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Diet quality is associated with psychobiological, psychological, biological, and physiological factors of individuals, and in the context of prolonged stress, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it can lead to a worsening of the quality of food for undergraduates. This study aimed to analyze diet quality and associated factors in Brazilian undergraduates. Methods: Data were collected from 4,799 undergraduate students from all Brazilian regions, from August 2020 to February 2021. The online questionnaire contained socioeconomic variables, the ESQUADA scale to assess diet quality, self-referred changes in weight, the Brazilian food insecurity scale (EBIA), sleep assessment and the perceived stress scale. Unconditional multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to study variables associated with poor and very poor diet quality. Results: Most of participants presented a good diet quality (51.7%), while 9.8% had a poor or very poor diet quality and only 1.1% had an excellent diet quality. 58.2% of undergraduates reported to have an increase in weight during the pandemic and 74.3% of the students presented elevated stress during the pandemic. Logistic regressions showed students who gained weight during the pandemic presented the highest AOR = 1.56 (95% CI = 1.12-2.20) for poor or very poor diet quality. The elevated perceived stress was also associated with a higher AOR = 2.85 (95% CI = 1.71-4.74) for poor or very poor diet quality. Conclusion: Most of the studied undergraduates presented a good diet quality. Nevertheless, poor/very poor diet quality was associated with higher perceived stress and weight gain. Our study indicated that policies should beaimed at the socioeconomically most vulnerable undergraduates, those in a situation of food and nutritional insecurity, high perceived stress, and who gained weight during the pandemic.

Ideal Cardiovascular Health in adolescents: Findings from Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: We assessed the Ideal Cardiovascular Health (CVH) in Brazilian adolescents according to demographics and socioeconomic characteristics. METHODS AND RESULTS: This is a cross-sectional study with data from the Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents (ERICA), with a nationwide representative sample of 36,956 Brazilian adolescents, aged 12-17 years, enrolled in public and private schools. The CVH metrics considered were body mass index (BMI), physical activity, smoking, healthy diet score, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, and total cholesterol. The demographics and socioeconomic characteristics analyzed were sex, age, race/skin color, and type of school attended. The study design was considered, and the significant difference determined by the non-overlapping of 95% Confidence Interval. The mean ideal CVH score was 4.0, higher for females, adolescents aged 15-17 years, and students from private schools. The prevalence of ideal fasting plasma glucose was 96%, of non-smoking 95.6%, of ideal blood pressure 75.5%, of ideal BMI 73.2%, of ideal total cholesterol 55.4%, of ideal physical activity 45.2%, and only 0.5% had an ideal diet. The prevalence of ideal CVH metrics varied according to demographics and socioeconomic characteristics. CONCLUSION: Females, older adolescents, and students who attended private school had a better CVH. Demographics and socioeconomic characteristics were associated with CVH metrics. The low ideal proportions found for diet and physical activity are of concern and reinforce the need for food and nutritional educational actions designed to promote healthy behaviors in adolescence to prevent the development of cardiovascular diseases.

Restricted dietary pattern may contribute to lowering blood pressure in adolescents with obesity: Study of Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Dieting is one of the main target factors for interventions that seek to control and prevent rising blood pressure. This study identified dietary patterns and analyzed their association with adolescents' blood pressure. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study with a probabilistic and nationally representative sample of adolescents aged 12-17 years, who participated in the Study of Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescents (ERICA), carried out in 2013-2014 with Brazilian adolescents (N = 36 956). Food consumption was assessed by 24 h recall. Dietary patterns were identified using the Reduced Rank Regression method, and considering waist circumference, fasting insulin, and dietary polyunsaturated fat/saturated fat ratio as intermediate variables. Multiple linear regression models stratified by weight were developed; SBP and DBP were the dependent variables, and dietary pattern scores were the independent ones, with adjustment for potential confounding factors. RESULTS: The following patterns were identified: 'Brazilian common', 'Restricted' and 'Added sugar'. The 'Restricted' pattern, which included diet/light foods, chicken and chicken-based dishes, leafy greens, vegetables and spices, red meats and dishes based on red meats and tubers, was inversely associated with SBP (ß = -1.55; 95% CI = -2.26 to -0.83) and DBP (ß = -1.19; 95% CI = -1.70 to -0.68) in adolescents with obesity. CONCLUSION: In adolescents with obesity, a low-energy density diet was associated with reduced blood pressure. These findings are consistent with international recommendations for preventing elevated blood pressure.