ABSTRACT
Objective
Low carotenoid intake is associated with the incidence of chronic noncommunicable diseases. Given the large diversity and specificity of chemical structures and functions, along with the wide Brazilian geodiversity, it should be important for health to examine the cross-sectional distribution of carotenoid availability. Considering family incomes, the authors have calculated and analyzed the individual household availability of α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, and lutein/zeaxanthin according to income in the eleven largest Brazilian urban centers in 2017-2018.
Methods
Data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics’ latest Family Budget Survey on monetary food acquisitions and food composition tables were used to calculate the individual carotenoid contents of both vegetable and animal food sources.
Results
The family acquisitions of carotenogenic foods showed to be insufficient for most families living in these urban centers, except Salvador, Belem, Belo Horizonte, and Porto Alegre, where certain key-carotenoid sources did reach the higher income groups. The main foods identified that contributed to the supply of carotenoids were carrot and common squash (α-carotene), common squash, carrot, scallion/parsley, mango, and tomato (β-carotene), papaya, orange, and tangerine (β-cryptoxanthin), tomato sauce, tomato paste, guava, watermelon and papaya (lycopene) and scallion/parsley, kale, egg, corn meal and corn flakes (lutein/zeaxanthin).
Conclusion
Based on the home availability of specific carotenoids estimated in the present study, it is concluded that the population was not reasonably well protected against chronic diseases given the low acquisition of key carotenoid sources in these urban centers, especially among the lower-income class.
Keywords
Carotenoid availability; Family Budget-2017-2018 Survey; Food consumption