American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 30, 955-964, Copyright © 1977 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Effect of income and geographic region on the nutritional value of diets in Brazil

GR Jansen, NB Jansen, CT Shigetomi and JM Harper

The nutritional quality of dietary patterns in Brazil was examined as influenced by income level, region, and urbanization by calculating nutrient to calorie ratios and amino acid scores. In general, income level had only a minor influence on diet quality. Riboflavin and calcium were generally low in the low income groups in all regions, especially in urban areas. Thiamin intake was marginal in urban areas at all income levels. Protein quality appeared to be relatively independent of income, with two exceptions. These were the dietary patterns of the lowest income groups in the rural Northeast and the City of Sao Paulo which were somewhat limiting in methionine and lysine, respectively. In contrast, the total availability of calories and protein was greatly dependent on income and the lowest income families were seriously short of food. Income, therefore, appeared to be more important in determining the total amount of food available to a family in Brazil than in affecting the nutritional quality of the diet.