Changes in food consumption among the Programa Bolsa Família participant families in Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To analyse changes and predictors of change in self-reported food intake among Brazilian families that benefitted from conditional cash transfer (CCT) implemented in the Programa Bolsa Família of the Brazilian Federal Government. Design: A cross-sectional survey. Setting: The study was conducted from September to October 2007 in a nationwide representative household sample of families included in the CCT. Socioeconomic variables, perception of food consumption and food insecurity were evaluated via questionnaire, which was completed during face-to-face interviews. Subjects: Five thousand households were selected from the CCT registry. Results: Families reported increased consumption of all food groups analysed, mainly cereals, processed foods, meat, milk and dairy, beans and sugar. The degree of dependence on income from the CCT was positively associated with increased self-reported intake of food items such as sugar and soft drinks. A Poisson regression revealed that the fourth quartile of CCT dependence demonstrated a twofold increase in the self-reported intake of soft drinks (relative risk (RR) 5 2?3, 95 % CI 1?8, 2?9) and sugar (RR 5 2?5, 95 % CI 2?1, 3?1) compared with the first quartile of CCT dependence. Conclusions: Greater purchasing power of poor families increases unhealthy food choices; thus public policies should emphasise the availability of healthy food.

Avaliação dos marcadores de consumo alimentar do VIGITEL (2007-2009)

“…Thus, it is not only the costs that determine the eating choices. De Bem Lignani et al 23 also identified that the higher purchasing power of the population addressed by Brazilian income transfer programs (Bolsa Família) increased the intake of unhealthy foods. Concerning the consumption of beans, POF identified a 30% reduction in the household availability of this item in the same period.…”

No food for thought: moderating effects of delay discounting and future time perspective on the relation between income and food insecurity , , ,

“…A major concern for low-income persons is a lack of monetary resources. However, increasing monetary resources alone is not sufficient to modify some important consequences of low income and food insecurity, such as obesity (12). Experimental data have suggested that providing monetary vouchers may increase obesity because people have more money to apply to unhealthy food choices (13).…”

Transferencia de renda no Brasil e desfechos nutricionais: revisao sistematica

“…8,27,30 However, methodological problems were identified in other studies which compromised the interpretation of results and weakened the evidence obtained, such as selecting the sample by convenience, small sample size 18,19,25 and not adjusting for confounding variables. 9,16 Evidences obtained in plausibility studies are useful and reliable in evaluating the impact of programs and public policies.…”

“…Also, the higher the value of the benefit, the higher the intake of all foodgroups. 8 The second study 9 assessed the diets of 747 PBF recipients in a municipality in the South using the Dietary Quality Index (DQI). It was concluded that the majority of recipients' diets were not adequate.…”