Prevalência do consumo de bebidas adoçadas e alimentos ultraprocessados por crianças brasileiras menores de dois anos

Abstract

This study analyzed the prevalence of consumption of sweetened drinks and ultra-processed foods by Brazilian children under two years of age. To this end, public data from the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System from 2015-2023 were analyzed, with information from 1,719,014 children between 6-23 months of age, in relation to the national territory, its macro-regions and the state of Rio Grande do Norte. Although there appears to be a tendency to decrease over the period, in 2023 a large proportion of children will still consume sweetened drinks (24%) and ultra-processed foods (39%). The Central-West region had the highest prevalence. Rio Grande do Norte had lower prevalence rates than the country and its macro-region, but this distance has been decreasing. The findings point to a worrying reality.