Evaluation of the Dietary Pattern of Rural Residents in the South of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Objective: We tried to learn about the eating habits and their possible consequences on the health of rural residents in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil in view of the importance of knowing dietary habits in the face of globalization and the risk of developing chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Methods: For this, 1344 people were stratified and interviewed between January 2015 and November 2019, individuals aged 18 years or over, working or residing in the rural area of ​​the micro-region studied were included. Epidemiological, anthropometric and clinical data and assessment of dietary pattern were collected. A survey built and validated by Vigitel was used, and the interviewees received scores referring to food consumption in recent weeks. Thus, they were divided into 3 groups, according to their score, with the highest scoring tertile classified as “adequate”, the medium tertile as “intermediate” and the lowest as “inadequate”.

Results: As a result, most interviewees were men (62.7%), overweight (54.03%), between 44.1 years old, and the average educational level of 6.64 years. Women had higher averages of schooling time and higher values ​​of BMI and waist circumference when compared to males. In addition, a higher percentage of women fit the high dietary pattern when compared to men. Most respondents (54.03%) were classified as overweight, followed by normal weight (41.8%) and underweight (4.06%) when assessing BMI. Older age and level of education varied and were associated to a better quality of diet. It is remarkable that the eating habits of the rural population are increasingly like those in urban areas. Even with better food quality, women have worse anthropometric indices than men. Even though food consumption has changed, it does not appear in the habits of older people.

Conclusion: However, it is concluded that public policies that promote healthy eating for rural residents are needed.