Hábitos alimentarios de la población urbana costarricense / Food habits of urban Costa Rican population

Resumen Objetivo: Es sabido que los malos hábitos alimentarios contribuyen a la aparición de enfermedades crónicas, como la obesidad y la diabetes mellitus, sin embargo, no existe información actualizada respecto a la alimentación de la población urbana en Costa Rica. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar los hábitos alimentarios de la población costarricense incluida en el Estudio Latinoamericano de Nutrición y Salud (ELANS). Métodos: Se incluyó una muestra de 798 participantes entre 15 y 65 años del área urbana de Costa Rica. Se determinó el consumo diario promedio de alimentos y la frecuencia por tiempo de comida de acuerdo al sexo, el grupo de edad y el nivel socioeconómico. Resultados: Los grupos de alimentos más consumidos en el desayuno fueron café y panes, en la merienda de la mañana frutas, en la merienda de la tarde café y panes y en el almuerzo y la cena arroz blanco, bebidas con azúcar y leguminosas. Se determinaron algunas diferencias en los alimentos incluidos en los diferentes tiempos de comida entre hombres y mujeres, según el grupo de edad y el nivel socioeconómico de los participantes. Conclusión: Los hábitos alimentarios de la población costarricense se caracterizaron por ser poco variados, y poseer un alto consumo de café, panes, arroz blanco y bebidas con azúcar y un consumo insuficiente de leguminosas, frutas, vegetales no harinosos y pescado. Esta información puede ser utilizada para la implementación de programas nutricionales tendientes a mejor los hábitos de alimentación en el país.

Abstract Objective: It is known that poor eating habits contribute to the onset of chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes mellitus, among others, however there is no recent information regarding the diet of the urban population in Costa Rica. The objective of this study was to analyze the dietary habits of the Costa Rican population included in the Latin American Nutrition and Health Study (ELANS). Methods: A sample of 798 participants between 15 and 65 years of urban areas of Costa Rica was included. The average daily consumption of food and the frequency per meal time were determined according to sex, age group and socioeconomic level. Results: The most consumed food groups at breakfast were coffee and bread, in the morning snack fruits, in the afternoon snack coffee and bread and at lunch and dinner white rice, sweetened beverages and legumes. Some differences were determined in the foods included in the different meal times between according to sex, age group and socioeconomic status of the participants. Conclusion: The dietary habits of the Costa Rican population were characterized by having little variety, a high consumption of coffee, bread, white rice and sweetened beverages and insufficient consumption of legumes, fruits, non-starchy vegetables and fish. This information can be used for the implementation of nutritional programs aimed at improving eating habits in the country.

The Correlation of Meal Frequency and Nutrition with Mental Health Status in Women Aged 20-39 Years: The 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2010-2012

BACKGROUND: We analyzed the relationship between meal frequency and nutrition with mental health status, and provide basic data on health promotion for breakfast and dinner skippers compared to non-skippers. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 2,114 women aged 20-39 years who participated in the KNHANES in 2010-2012. We compared differences such as marital status, weight change, obesity, and under-weightness, smoking, high-risk alcohol consumption, exercise, suicide ideation, stress perception, depression, blood pressure, lipid profile, 25-Hydroxyvitamin-D, and ferritin levels among meal-skipping groups by cross tabulation analysis and general linear model analysis. RESULTS: The proportion of respondent undergoing weight loss efforts was over 50%, and of those roughly 75% were using a specific diet (e.g., fasting, skipping meals, single food diet). The breakfast and dinner skippers tended to be young, unmarried, and, had higher stress perception and suicide ideation than the non-skipping meal group. There were significantly higher incidents of obesity (body mass index > or =25 kg/m2, P=0.004), weight loss efforts, smoking, high-risk alcohol consumption, suicide ideation, and irregular menstruation in dinner skippers. In addition, there were significantly higher levels of under-weightness (P=0.004) and frequent eating out (over 5-6/week, P=0.005) in breakfast skippers. CONCLUSION: There were more physical and mental problems in dinner skippers in regards to high-risk alcohol consumption, suicide ideation, stress perception, and irregular menstruation. In the future, long-term studies are needed to reveal the correlation of meal frequency and nutrition with mental health status in patients who skip meals.