Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Glob Public Health. 2013;8(7):845-56. doi: 10.1080/17441692.2013.796401. Epub 2013 Jun 4.
This paper tests the hypothesis that one important factor determining household availability of ready-to-consume products is their cost relative to the rest of the diet. National food expenditure surveys in the UK (2008) and Brazil (2008-09) were used. Purchased food quantities were converted into dietary energy (calories) and classified into three groups: (1) foods that are unprocessed or minimally processed; (2) processed culinary ingredients; and (3) ready-to-consume products, either processed or ultra-processed. The contribution of these groups to diets in each country was calculated as a percentage of total energy. Relative cost of ready-to-consume products in each country was calculated by dividing their cost by the cost of the rest of the diet (foods plus culinary ingredients). Linear regression analysis was used to test the association between the UK to Brazil ratios of the caloric share of different ready-to-consume products, and of the relative cost of these products. The caloric share of ready-to-consume products in the UK (63.4%) was well over double that of Brazil (27.7%), whereas their cost relative to the rest of the diet was 43% lower. The lower the relative cost of ready-to-consume products in the UK (compared with Brazil), the higher their relative consumption (R(2)=0.38, p<0.01).
本文检验了这样一个假设，即决定家庭是否有现成食用产品的一个重要因素是这些产品的成本与其饮食结构的相对关系。本文使用了英国（2008 年）和巴西（2008-09 年）的国家食品支出调查数据。购买的食品数量被转换为膳食能量（卡路里），并分为三组：（1）未经加工或仅轻微加工的食品；（2）加工烹饪原料；（3）即食产品，无论是加工的还是超加工的。这三组食物在每个国家饮食结构中的占比，以总能量的百分比计算。每个国家即食产品的相对成本，通过将其成本除以其余饮食结构（食品加烹饪原料）的成本来计算。本文采用线性回归分析来检验不同即食产品的卡路里占比，以及这些产品相对成本在英国和巴西之间的比值之间的关联。英国即食产品的卡路里占比（63.4%）远高于巴西（27.7%），而其相对成本则低 43%。英国即食产品的相对成本（与巴西相比）越低，其相对消费就越高（R(2)=0.38，p<0.01）。
