Introduction

Studying the food consumption patterns of a population is important given the relationships between diet-disease, especially the consumption of fruits and vegetables (F&V) which are essential because they provide vitamins, minerals, fiber and bioactive compounds that contribute to achieve a state of integral health. The objective was to identify and characterize the most important patterns of fruit and vegetable consumption in Venezuelans between ages 15 and 65 years residing in urban areas during 2015.

Material and Methods

This research was carried out with data belonging to Venezuela from the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health (ELANS), a descriptive and cross-sectional study carried out by a random, multi-stage quota sampling in its last phase (Clinical Trials registry: NCT02226627), with the purpose of collecting information on consumption of food and drinks through two 24-hour records. The representative sample for Venezuela was 1,132 subjects. A descriptive analysis of the consumption variables and a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) followed by a cluster analysis was performed.

Results

The majority of the population does not consume an adequate amount of F&V per day (231.8g), they prefer yellow-orange fruits over vegetables with stems and green leaves. Six consumption patterns were identified, as follow: low in vegetables (25.5%), rich in vegetables (13.4%), traditional (31.4%), rich in fruit (23.5%), non-consumers of fruits (2.9%) and non-consumers of vegetables (3.3%).

Conclusions

The findings categorized the different patterns of consumption of F&V among Venezuelans living in urban areas, based on key variables such as the type of food, the amount consumed and, the shape and color of the fruit or vegetable. In addition, none of the patterns was characterized by meeting the F&V consumption recommendations, being insufficient in variety and quantity.

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