Research by the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) reinforces the importance of one of the most traditional dishes of Brazilian cuisine: beans.
People who do not eat legumes have a 10% greater risk of being overweight and a 20% greater risk of obesity, according to the authors of the study. On the other hand, those who consume beans regularly, five or more days a week, are 14% less likely to be overweight and 15% less likely to be obese.
“Beans are a marker of the nutritional quality of the diet and a symbol of traditional Brazilian food, in addition to being an essential element, many times, for food security”, says nutritionist Fernanda Serra Granado, author of the research presented at the Postgraduate Program degree in Public Health from the Faculty of Medicine.
Information
To arrive at the results, information from the Surveillance System of Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey (VIGITEL), a survey by the Ministry of Health, was used. The information includes interviews with 500,000 adults, between 2009 and 2019, about lifestyle habits.
According to Fernanda, during the survey, it was also possible to observe that the consumption of beans is decreasing among Brazilians. In the analysis by sex, it was found that, in 2022, women eat beans less than five times a week. In the case of men, the estimate is that this will begin to occur in 2029.
In a note for the dissemination of the work, the expert considered that the replacement of natural or minimally processed foods for ultra-processed ones worsens the quality of the diet. “The change in food profile is due to the practicality that ultra-processed foods offer to everyday life. Due to the lack of time, many opt for ready-to-eat or easy-to-prepare products”, laments Fernanda.
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