A rotulagem nutricional na promoção de escolhas alimentares mais saudáveis

Abstract

The food security of a certain population is defined through the access to food in quantity and quality. The health problems related to Nutrition Epidemiology point to a Picture frame of malnutrition or on the other hand obesity, which demonstrates a scenario of both economic and epidemiological transition. This increase in obesity is not exclusive of the most economically developed countries, also affecting countries of much lower sociodemographic development. A large amount of chronic non communicable diseases are also related to nourishment, especially the nutritional quantity and quality of the diets. The Nutritional Labelling thus consolidates its important role in the insurance of human health, being currently recognized as an instrument of connection between healthy food choices and the possibility of change in the food consumption of the population. Thereby, there is a trend among consumers which are willing to know and understand the nutritional value of packed and industrialized foods. The mandatory requirements of nutritional labelling was motivated by the necessity of harmonization with the international commerce, combined with the new profile of the consumer, getting increasingly demanding; but being also a strategy to promote education, so that when having access to food, the consumers will be able to make healthier choices with the aid of the nutritional statements contained in the labels. The objective of this research is to analyze the efficiency of an intervention study regarding nutritional labelling to promote healthier food choices. The selected subjects included high school or undergraduate students aged ≥18 years. The sample size was determined based on a pilot study conducted with 118 students that aimed to determine if they consulted nutrition information on labeling before choosing foods; the difference between the frequencies observed in the pre- (69.0%) and post- (78.0%) tests was 8.5%. Therefore, the estimated required sample size was 800 students based on an alpha error of 5% and a beta error of 20%.Of the 702 participants (mean age, 26.6 years), 17.4% were male, and 82.6% were female. The education level was high school for 53.2% of the participants. The participants positively evaluated the education material provided in the folder, the orientation during the program, and the importance of knowledge of the recommended daily values. The intervention described in this study was feasible and acceptable, improving the knowledge of the participants and providing tools to promote healthy food choices.