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Social and Racial Disparities in Food Consumption Among Brazilian College Students: a Nationwide Study

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Abstract

This study aims to assess the association between economic class, race/skin color, and food consumption among Brazilian college students. A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted with college students from all over Brazil. Demographic data, economic class, self-reported race/skin color, anthropometry, and food consumption markers from the Brazilian Food and Nutrition Surveillance System were collected. The final sample comprised 5843 participants with a mean age of 24.1 (SD: 6.3) years, 4292 (73.5%) were female, and 810 (13.9%) in the highest economic stratum. We observed a progressive decrease in the frequency of fresh fruits and vegetables consumption from higher to lower economic classes (p < 0.01 for both). Contrarily, there was a progressive increase in the frequency of consumption of beans from higher to lower economic classes (p < 0.01). The frequency consumption of vegetables was also associated with race/skin color (p < 0.01), being lower in brown (PR: 0.94; CI 95%: 0.90; 0.98), and black (PR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.85; 0.98) individuals, compared to white individuals. Brown individuals showed higher frequency consumption of beans (PR: 1.10; 95% CI: 1.05; 1.15) than whites. When compared to individuals of white race/skin color, brown (PR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.01; 1.13) and black (PR: 1.15; 95% CI: 1.07; 1.23) individuals showed higher frequency consumption of sweetened beverages. Economic class and race/skin color were independent factors associated with the food consumption of Brazilian college students.

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Funding

A.E.S.J. is supported by a research grant from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES) (process number: 88887.480702/2020–00). M.L.M. and D.R.S.P. are supported with research grants from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES) (process number: 23065.005919/2021–75).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Nutrição, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    André Eduardo Silva Júnior, Dafiny Rodrigues Silva Praxedes & Mateus de Lima Macena

  2. Faculdade de Nutrição, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Avenida Lourival de Melo Mota S/N, Maceió-AL, 57072-970, Brazil

    Ana Debora Santos de Oliveira, Déborah Tenório da Costa Paula, Telma Maria de Menezes Toledo Florêncio, Ana Paula Grotti Clemente & Nassib Bezerra Bueno

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  1. André Eduardo Silva Júnior
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Contributions

A.E.S.J. contributed to the conception and design of the study, data collection, statistical analysis, interpretation of results, and writing of the manuscript. A.D.S.O., D.R.S.P., D.T.C.P., and M.L.M. contributed to data collection, interpretation of results, and writing of the manuscript. T.M.M.T.F. and A.P.G.C. contributed to data interpretation, manuscript writing, and critical revision of the intellectual content. N.B.B. contributed to the statistical analysis, interpretation of results, writing of the manuscript, and critical revision of the intellectual content. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the work.

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Silva Júnior, A.E., de Oliveira, A.D.S., Praxedes, D.R.S. et al. Social and Racial Disparities in Food Consumption Among Brazilian College Students: a Nationwide Study. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 10, 2630–2640 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01441-0

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