Serum fatty acid profile and the consumption of ultra-processed foods by women with severe obesity

Introduction: Obesity is one of the main public health problems in the world. This multifactorial chronic disease is considered a risk factor for the development and aggravation of several comorbidities. In the mechanism of onset of obesity, the favorable chronic energy balance plays a key role. In this sense, the diet stands out as an important factor for the onset of the disease and consequent biochemical changes. The high consumption of processed foods in recent years may be related to the increase in obesity and disorders involving the metabolism, transport and storage of fatty acids; Objective: This study aims to assess whether food consumption influences the profile of serum fatty acids in women with severe obesity; Methodology: This is a cross-sectional descriptive analytical study carried out with women with severe obesity who underwent bariatric surgery. Data collection consisted of anthropometric assessment, application of a Food Frequency Questionnaire and blood collection. The blood collected was used to perform a lipidogram and for subsequent measurement of serum fatty acids. Food consumption identified in the FFQ was classified according to the degree of processing of these according to NOVA. The data found were tabulated in Excel and submitted to the necessary statistical analyzes in the IBM SPSS Statistics program, version 21. The level of significance of the analyzes was set at 5%. This study was approved by the appropriate ethics committees and registered on all necessary research platforms; Results: The study included a sample of 44 women, with an average age of 40.59 years. the mean BMI of the sample was 48.61 kg / m2 and 100% of the research volunteers had an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases and metabolic risk. A negative correlation was observed between the variables "score of average consumption of ultra-processed foods" and "HDL", with p = 0.035. The analysis by tertiles of average consumption of ultra-processed foods showed that the variable “total cholesterol”, presented significant statistical value (p = 0.029), for a comparison between tertiles 1 (n = 11) and 3 (n = 11). In addition, “total cholesterol” (0.113), “total consumption of fresh foods” (0.135) and “average consumption of fresh foods” (0.134) had a broad clinical effect, according to the size of the effect.