SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online

 
vol.18 issue1Nutritional condition and moments of food consumption of schoolchildren in public schools intervened by the Póngale Vida® Model in Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa RicaEstimation of weight of food portions depicted in digital photographs author indexsubject indexarticles search
Home Pagealphabetic serial listing  

Services on Demand

Journal

Article

Indicators

Related links

  • Have no similar articlesSimilars in SciELO

Share


Población y Salud en Mesoamérica

On-line version ISSN 1659-0201

Abstract

GOMEZ SALAS, Georgina; QUESADA, Dayana  and  CHINNOCK, Anne. Fruits and vegetables intake among Costa Rican urban population: results from the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health: ELANS-Costa Rica. PSM [online]. 2020, vol.18, n.1, pp.450-470. ISSN 1659-0201.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/psm.v18i1.42383.

Introduction:

Consumption of fruit and vegetables has been widely associated with different health benefits such as protection against non-transmissible chronic diseases, cancer and mental disorders. Due to these benefits, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends daily consumption of 400 grams of fruit and vegetables. This study is aimed at characterize fruit and vegetable consumption according to socioeconomic variables, among the Costa Rican population and the degree to which this meets the WHO recommended intake.

Methods:

Data were obtained from the Latin American Nutrition and Health Study (ELANS)-Costa Rica. 798 subjects aged 15-65 years, living in urban areas were interviewed and their food consumption assessed by two 24-hour Recalls. Fruit and vegetable consumption were analyzed by gender, age group and socioeconomic status.

Results:

Average daily consumption of fruit and vegetables was 220g/p/d and increased with age (p=0.035 between with 15-19 and 50-65 years old) and socioeconomic status (p=0.004 between low and middle). No association was found with gender or education level (p>0.05). Only 12.0 % of the urban Costa Rican population met the WHO recommendation.

Conclusions:

The results provide evidence for the need for programs and interventions adapted to the characteristics and preferences of the Costa Rican population, to promote an increase of the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Similar studies are needed in the rural areas of Costa Rica as food habits and factors associated with them may differ

Keywords : Costa Rica; fruits consumption; vegetables consumption; dietary habits; urban population.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )