Contribution of food groups to energy, grams and nutrients-to-limit: the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health/Estudio Latino Americano de Nutricion y Salud (ELANS)

Objective: To quantify the energy, nutrients-to-limit and total gram amount consumed and identify their top food sources consumed by Latin Americans. Design: Data from the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health (ELANS). Setting: ELANS is a cross-sectional study representative of eight Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Participants: Two 24-h dietary recalls on non-consecutive days were used to estimate usual dietary intake of 9218 participants with ages between 15-65 years. 'What We Eat in America' food classification system developed by United States Department of Agriculture was adapted and used to classify all food items consumed by the ELANS population. Food sources of energy, added sugars, SFA, Na and total gram amount consumed were identified and ranked based on percentage of contribution to intake of total amount. Results: Three-highest ranked food categories of total energy consumed were: rice (10 center dot 3%), yeast breads (6 center dot 9%), and turnovers and other grain-based items (6 center dot 8 %). Highest ranked food sources of total gram amount consumed were fruit drinks (9 center dot 6%), other 100% juice (9 center dot 3%) and rice (8 center dot 3%). Three highest ranked sources for added sugars were other 100% juice (24 center dot 1 %), fruit drinks (16 center dot 5%), and sugar and honey (12 center dot 4%). SFA ranked foods were turnovers and other grain-based (12 center dot 6 %), cheese (11 center dot 9%), and pizza (10 center dot 3%). Three top sources of Na were rice (13 center dot 9%), soups (9 center dot 1 %) and rice mixed dishes (7 center dot 3 %). Conclusion: Identification of top sources of energy and nutrients-to-limit among Latin Americans is critical for designing strategies to help them meet nutrient recommendations within energy needs.

Automated summary

The study based on the ELANS data aimed to investigate the top sources of energy, nutrients-to-limit, and total gram amount consumed by Latin Americans. The findings showed that rice, yeast breads, and turnovers were the top sources of energy, while fruit drinks, other 100% juice, and rice were the most consumed in terms of total gram amount. Added sugars mainly came from other 100% juice and fruit drinks, while SFA mostly came from turnovers, cheese, and pizza. The top sources of Na included rice, soups, and rice mixed dishes. The identification of these sources is crucial for developing strategies to improve nutrient intake among this population.