Dietary assessment of women surviving breast cancer according to the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population

Abstract

Objective. Review the diet and nutritional status of women surviving breast cancer following the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 201 women, who underwent anthropometric measurements to determine body mass index, waist circumference and waist/hip ratio. Dietary assessment was performed using a food frequency questionnaire. Consumption was stratifi ed into four groups: fresh/minimally processed food (Group 1), processed food ingredients (Group 2), processed food (Group 3) and ultra-processed food (Group 4). The ratio of daily contribution of each food group to total calories and macronutrients supply was calculated. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square tests and Spearman correlation, with p<0.05 as significance level. Results. The mean age was 50 ± 11 years. An abdominal fat accumulation with a high excess weight condition in women under 60 years of age (p=0.003) was observed. A greater intake of group 1 food, but contributing with about 1/3 of the calories and macronutrients total intake as compared to food groups 3 and 4 was also observed. Conclusion. The women assessed consumed a higher proportion of calories and macronutrients from fresh/minimally processed food. There is no theoretical reference that allows to affirm that the amount of processed and ultra-processed food consumed represents a health hazard for those women. There was no association between dietary intake, nutritional status and age group.