Brazilian 'Fact' has oversized waist and excess calories | Well being

"Our conclusion is that we must pay attention to the amount of food we eat, not only in fast food, but also in a restaurant that serves a full meal, PF," says Vivian Suen, researcher responsible for studying in Brazil and teacher. of the Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine of the University of São Paulo. The research was supported by Fapesp.

According to Suen, eating more calories than necessary can result in weight gain and obesity.

Analyzes showed that a Brazilian meal, without drinks and dessert, contained about 1200 kcal – four options badyzed exceeded 1600 kcal. The NHS, the public health department of England, recommends that an adult man consume 2500 kcal per day and an adult woman 2,000 kcal.

Thus, Brazilian FPs have about half the daily caloric requirements of an adult male and 60% of an adult woman.

"If you eat 1200 kcal at lunch, 1200 kcal at dinner, in addition to breakfast and other meals of the day, you exceed the recommended calories," calculates Vivian. "Over a year, 300 kcal to 400 kcal more than needed every day, without increasing the amount of physical activity, can represent a few more pounds."

The researcher notes however that the recommended amount of calories varies from one person to another, depending on one's lifestyle, one's state of health and even the structure of the meals throughout. of the day. FP size may not be a problem for people with high caloric expenditure (for example, a hard-working person or athlete) or who eats a lot at lunchtime and who makes up for it. other smaller meals.

"If you eat more than at lunch time, but you do not gain weight, it's good," says Suen.

For the average population, it is recommended that restaurants be asked to reduce portion sizes – especially the amount of rice. If this is not possible, it is worth sharing the dish with another person or even packing the rest and bringing it home.

FPs and fast foods badyzed in the study

To conduct the study, researchers visited restaurants in Ribeirão Preto and bought the two best-selling dishes at each location. All were formed by the clbadic rice with beans, meat and salad, with various accompaniments. They also bought fast food snacks and snacks. The food was then brought to the laboratory for badysis of caloric intake.

The most caloric PF weighed no less than a pound. In addition to rice and beans, there was parmegiana chicken, garlic and pasta in oil, fried cbadava and farofa. In total, 2013 kcal – more than the total recommended for a woman throughout the day.

One of the lowest calorie FPs was already weighing 700 grams and 790 kcal – rice, beans, grilled chicken, cooked vegetables and fried eggs. This is much less than a potato bread badyzed, stuffed with curd, ham and bacon, with 333 grams and 1120 kcal.

The research did not evaluate the nutritional value of the dishes, but according to Vivian Suen, the Brazilian PF, in addition to being bulky and high in calories, is not very nutritious.

"If you look at what you have on the plate, you will see that the nutritional quality is not good.First, there is very little salad – two or three leaves of lettuce. has a lot of rice – around two skimmers, when the ideal would be 3 to 4 tablespoons.The meat is also very fat. "

But what would be the ideal meal size? In addition to 3 to 4 tablespoons of rice, Vivian Suen recommends a tablespoon of beans, a skinny flesh the size of a palm (which removes the apparent fat layer), a portion of stir-fried vegetables and a green salad at will. Another suggestion is to eat only one type of carbohydrate – if you eat rice, do not take noodles or potato salad.