Local trends in diet in urban Colombia, 1990-1995 to 2008: Little evidence of a nutrition transition among low-income women.

OBJECTIVES:

To quantify changes in the diets of low-income women in Cali, Colombia between 1990-1995 and 2008, a period of increases in body size, and to situate these changes within national-level trends in food availability, as well as to compare these changes with those expected in countries undergoing a nutrition transition.

METHODS:

Individual dietary intake was assessed via 24-hour recalls in both 1990-1995 (n = 85) and 2008 (n = 88). Dietary data were analyzed for intake of energy, macronutrients, and specific food items. National-level trends in food availability were evaluated using data from the Food and Agriculture Organization.

RESULTS:

Total energy and protein intake did not change over time, but in 2008 women consumed proportionally more fat (23.0 vs. 19.1% of calories; P = 0.002) and less carbohydrate (66.5 vs. 71.0% of calories; P < 0.001) than in 1990-1995. The increased fat consumption is attributable to vegetable oils. This increase in vegetable oil consumption, and a decrease in starchy vegetable consumption, fit with both national-level trends in food supply, and the expectations of a nutrition transition. On the other hand, the increased consumption of non-starchy vegetables, and the stability in consumption of added sugars and animal-source proteins was contrary to the expectations of a nutrition transition.

CONCLUSIONS:

The changes in diet among low-income women in Cali, Colombia between 1990-1995 and 2008 partially match national-level trends in food supply and the theoretical expectations of a nutrition transition, but are nonetheless a localized phenomenon. They do not help explain concurrent changes in body size.