Mauro Fisberg

• MD, PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Instituto Pensi- Pensi Institute

The overweight/obesity high prevalence and the effects of climate change in Latin America underscores the possible positive outcomes of adopting a healthy and sustainable diet to respond to the region’s burden of nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). However, research on adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet in Latin America and its associa...

Objective: To explore recent findings on how nutritional, gastrointestinal, social, and epigenetic factors interact in autism spectrum disorder, highlighting their implications for clinical management and intervention strategies that could improve development and quality of life of affected children. Sources: Studies published from 2000 to 2024 in...

This study aimed to examine the associations between substituting sedentary time (ST) with physical activity and sleep with obesity parameters in adults from eight Latin American countries. The sample consisted of 2173 adults aged 18–65 years. Physical activity, ST and sleep were objectively measured using accelerometers. The parameters of obesity...

Pediatric patients with sickle cell disease and vitamin D deficiency have worse clinical and laboratory outcomes. This study aims to quantify the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in this population and identify possible risk factors for hypovitaminosis D by performing a cross-sectional study with children aged 3-18 years old with sickle cell dise...

Introduction: water is a crucial component of human health useful for various bodily functions. Despite its importance, previous research has largely overlooked hydration in Latin America, focusing instead on regions with greater access to a variety of food sources. Objective: hence, this study provides comprehensive data on water consumption patte...

Objective: To explore recent findings on how nutritional, gastrointestinal, social, and epigenetic factors interact in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), highlighting their implications for clinical management and intervention strategies that could improve development and quality of life of affected children. Sources: Published materials from main sci...

Background/Objectives: Fats, although essential for the proper functioning of the body, have been linked to an increased risk of developing chronic diseases, especially cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intake of total fat and its components (saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and trans fats) in men and wom...

Background/Objectives: Fats, although essential for the proper functioning of the body, have been linked to an increased risk of developing chronic diseases, especially cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intake of total fat, and its components (saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and trans fats) in men and wo...

Background/Objectives: Choline and essential fatty acids (EFA) are vital for fetal brain development, supporting pregnancy, and maintaining hormonal balance. They also promote overall health. The childbearing years present a window of opportunity to increase the intake of these key nutrients and develop healthy dietary habits. The aims of this stud...

Choline and essential fatty acids (EFA) are vital for fetal brain development, supporting pregnancy, and maintaining hormonal balance. They also promote overall health. The childbearing years present a window of opportunity to increase the intake of these key nutrients and develop healthy dietary habits. Survey data were collected for the Estudio L...

Purpose To describe the physical activity (PA) level and its association with socio-demographic factors in the Brazilian youth. Methods We analyzed 476 individual participants of the Brazilian Study of Nutrition and Health (EBANS), using the age cutoff proposed by the World Health Organization to define the adolescence period. The International Ph...

Introdução: Os primeiros anos de vida são essenciais para o crescimento e desenvolvimento. A criança, já nasce com a preferência pelo sabor doce, e ao consumir preparações açucaradas, propicia-se uma alimentação de baixa qualidade nutricional. O objetivo do estudo é descrever a ingestão de alimentos que contenham açúcar por crianças com dificuldade...

Objetivos: descrever parâmetros bioquímicos e antropométricos de acordo com a presença e ausência de doenças orgânicas em crianças com dificuldades alimentares. Materiais e métodos: Estudo transversal com dados retrospectivos de um ambulatório de dificuldades alimentares. Doença orgânica foi definida como qualquer condição de saúde na qual há um pr...

Background Women’s Dietary Diversity Score (WDDS) is an indicator of dietary diversity, a key component of diet quality in women of reproductive age (WRA). Limited information is available regarding its applicability in other population groups. Objective To examine the ability of the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) of 5-food groups cut...

Excessive intake of free sugars is associated with adverse health outcomes. Table sugar is one of the main dietary sources of free sugars; however, the amount added by Brazilian consumers in their culinary preparations is unknown. The aims were to estimate the daily intake of table sugar (g/day), its contribution to total energy intake (E%) and the...

Introduction: Children with feeding difficulties are more likely to present sensory sensitivities and detect meaningful changes in the sensory properties of foods and reject new foods. Objective: The aims of the study were to identify the top food sources of energy according to children sensitivity profile, and investigate whether there are differe...

Introduction Energy imbalance gap (EIG) is defined as the average daily difference between energy intake (EI) and energy expenditure (EE). This study aimed to examine the associations between EIG and sociodemographic and anthropometric variables in the adolescent population of eight Latin America countries. Methods A total of 680 adolescents aged...

Background Feeding difficulties (FDs) are complex phenomena influenced by parental factors, feeding behaviour, and cultural factors. However, studies of the influences of these factors on FDs incidence are scarce. Thus, this study aimed to identify the associations between mothers’ perceptions of FDs in children and parental feeding styles, body ma...

Assessing dietary inadequacies can contribute to understanding the nutritional vulnerabilities of a country. This study aimed to investigate nutrient intakes and micronutrient inadequacies in the Brazilian adult population, with an interest in different age subgroups. We conducted a cross-sectional study with 1812 individuals aged 19 to 65 years fr...

Assessing dietary inadequacies can contribute to understanding the nutritional vulnerabilities of a country. This study aimed to investigate nutrient intakes and micronutrient inadequacies in the Brazilian adult population, with an interest in different age subgroups. Cross-sectional study with 1812 individuals aged 19 to 65 years from a population...

This study verified the diagnostic accuracy of the nutritional status classified by the international height and BMI references of the World Health Organization (WHO/2007), International Obesity Task Force (IOTF/2012), and MULT (2023). The data pool was composed by 22,737 subjects aged five to 16 years old from the Santos and Porto Alegre surveys....

To identify risk factors related to a higher prevalence of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia and propose strategies for prevention. A literature review was conducted by 22 people from the scientific departments of nutrology and hematology at SBP. The risk factors for the development of iron deficiency anemia were low maternal reserve (preg...

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the biopsychosocial environment and eating habits and behaviors that lead to the selection and consumption of certain food from the earliest stages of life. To clarify whether there is an interaction between genetic and epigenetic factors, and how they shape eating habits. Data source: A narrati...

Background Latin American countries have shifted from traditional diets rich in micronutrients to a Westernized diet rich in high energy-dense foods and low in micronutrients. Objective This study aimed to determine the prevalence of adequate micronutrient intakes in urban populations of 8 Latin American countries. Method Micronutrient dietary in...

Energy imbalance gap (EIG) is defined as the average daily difference between energy intake (EI) and energy expenditure (EE). This study aimed to examine the associations between EIG and sociodemographic and anthropometric variables in the adolescent population of eight Latin American countries. A total of 680 adolescents aged 15 to 18 were include...

Background Parental complaints about feeding difficulties (FD) during childhood are frequent in pediatrics. Behavioral factors about children’s feeding and parental aspects are fundamental in solving these problems, but research in this area lacks information considering the joint presence of fathers and mothers. Thus, this study aimed to investiga...

To examine the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and verify the associations between EBF and its duration with parental styles among children with feeding difficulties from a Brazilian reference center. This was a cross-sectional study with children from a reference center in nutrition and feeding difficulties. Socio-demographics, parenta...

Objective To describe the prevalence of inadequate mineral intake and associated factors with calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, and sodium intakes in individuals aged 15-24.9 years. Methods We analyzed 476 individuals from the Brazilian Study of Nutrition and Health, stratified into two age groups (adolescents aged 15-18.9 years and youn...

Recent studies have shown various relationships between physical activity and the incidence of obesity, but this study critically explored the association of sedentary time (ST) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with obesity risk in adults from eight Latin American countries. ST and MVPA were assessed with accelerometers and stratif...

Dietary protein intake is vital to life. Here we sought to characterize dietary sources of protein in eight Latin American countries. Survey data were collected for Estudio Latinoamericano de Nutrición y Salud (ELANS); participants were from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela (n = 9218, 15-65 years old). Th...

Objetivos: Mapear e caracterizar os tipos de alimentos aceitos por crianças com dificuldades alimentares (DA), a partir do registro dos alimentos no inventário alimentar (IA). Métodos: Estudo observacional retrospectivo realizado a partir da análise do IA de 67 pacientes com DA atendidos no Centro de Dificuldades Alimentares localizado em São Paulo...

Abstract Background Excess weight is increasing worldwide, and in Latin America more than half of the population is excess weight. One of the reasons for this increase has been excessive sitting time. Still, it remains to be seen whether there is an excessive amount of that time in Latin American adults. This study aimed to associate different sitt...

The aim of this Research Topic is to address the most recent innovations in body composition assessment for its application in epidemiological studies, as well as in clinical practice, providing health professionals with concepts and evidence of its usefulness, while assisting them with the most appropriate selection of techniques according to the...

OBJECTIVE: Young adults have gained recognition as a period marked by changes in dietary and other lifestyle behaviors. The aim was to characterized young adults as meat and non-meat consumers and examine non-meat consumers associations between lifestyle behaviors, reasons, and motivations for adhering to vegetarian styles. METHODS: cross-sectional...

Objetivo: Avaliar o consumo, perfil nutricional e fontes de alimentos consumidos no café da manhã por crianças com dificuldades alimentares. Métodos: Estudo transversal com 137, lactentes, pré-escolares, e crianças em idade escolar de um centro de referência em nutrição e dificuldades alimentares em São Paulo, Brasil. Características sociodemográfi...

Protein is a key dietary macronutrient involved in almost all physiological functions. Results of this ELANS analysis provided a detailed description of dietary protein intake by Latin American country, by relevant food sources, and by sociodemographic groups. Protein data were available for N=9,218 individuals between the ages of 15 and 65 years....

This study aimed to examine the association between the neighborhood environment and domain-specific physical activity and sitting time in Brazilian adults. This cross-sectional study included 1803 adults (53.7% women) from Brazil’s five regions (North, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast and South). The perception of the environment was evaluated via a...

This study examines the associations between perceived urban environment attributes and obesity indices by country using data from an eight-nation study from Latin America. The data were collected from 8185 adults. The Neighbourhood Environment Walkability-abbreviated scale was used to assess perceived urban environment attributes. Obesity indices...

This study aims to establish cut-off points for the number of minutes of physical activity intensity and the number of daily steps that identify overweight/obesity in adolescents, adults, and older adults. This study examined data from 2737 participants. Physical activity intensity and the number of daily steps were assessed using GT3X+ ActiGraph m...

Objective: to present characteristics related to feeding difficulties (FD) in Brazilian children. Methodology: cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study with a quantitative approach that used a structured electronic questionnaire on FD, management and reaction of caregivers to these difficulties, family repercussions, source of knowledge on...

Neighborhood built environment is associated with domain-specific physical activity. However, few studies with representative samples have examined the association between perceived neighborhood safety indicators and domain-specific active transportation in Latin America. This study aimed to examine the associations of perceived neighborhood safety...

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between self-reported and device-based measures of sedentary behavior (SB) with obesity markers in adults from Latin American countries. Sitting time and total time spent in different SBs were self-reported using two different questionnaires. Accelerometers were used to assess total sedentar...

Excessive sodium intake has been related to high blood pressure, a central risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In the present work, updated estimates of sodium intake, the main food sources, and the prevalence of excessive intakes in a nationwide multi-ethnic sample of Brazilian adults (2017–2018 Brazilian National Dietary Survey) were presente...

An excessive dietary intake of sodium has been related to high blood pressure, a central but modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and other ill health conditions. In the present work, we aimed to update estimates of sodium intake in a representative sample of Brazilian adults from the 2017-2018 Brazilian National Dietary Survey. Based...

Background: Evidence has shown that active transportation decreases obesity rates, but considering walking or cycling as separate modes could provide additional information on the health benefits in adolescents. This study aimed to examine the associations between walking and cycling as form active transportation and obesity indicators in Latin Ame...

Introdução: A partir do início do século XXI, um novo conceito começou a emergir nos meios científicos e sociais: os primeiros 1.000 dias de vida. Nessa mesma linha um movimento internacional iniciado no mesmo período começou a discutir sobre a “origem desenvolvimentista da saúde e da doença”. Inúmeros problemas que acometem o ser humano em todo se...

This study aimed to compare compliance with 24-h movement guidelines across countries and examine the associations with markers of adiposity in adults from eight Latin American countries. The sample consisted of 2338 adults aged 18-65 years. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior (SB) data were objectively measured usi...

Background Anthropometric indicators have been used to predict health problems. The objective was to determine which indicators present better correlation with dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia and peripheral insulin resistance, as well as the cutoff points capable of predicting lipid and glycemic alterations in Brazilian children and adolescents. Metho...

Dietary patterns derived by data-driven techniques are still scarce in the food security context and may be a useful tool to inform policymakers to promote adequate and healthy diets for vulnerable populations. We investigated the association between food security status and dietary patterns among 28,127 Brazilian adults using data from the 2017–20...

Background Socio-demographic correlates and human development index (HDI) are associated with self-reported physical activity, but only a few studies have focused on device-measured physical activity and sedentary time in Latin America. We examined the relationship between socio-demographic correlates and HDI with physical activity and sedentary ti...

Background: The family environment influences food consumption and behaviours, which impact adolescent's eating habits, diet and health. Young individuals who frequently eat family meals are less likely to develop risk- and behaviour-related outcomes as obesity. Aim: To assess the relationship between the family meal environment and food and mac...

Little is known about how behaviors to control weight are associated with diet quality among youth from low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to examine associations between efforts to control weight (ECW) and diet quality among Brazilian adolescents and young adults. Methods: Data from 731 participants (17.89±4.92 years, 51.1...

Introdução: Doenças orgânicas (DO) e alterações de motricidade orofaciais podem ser causas associadas à problemas alimentares na infância.Objetivo: Descrever as prevalências de alterações de motricidade orofaciais, de fala e linguagem em crianças com dificuldades alimentares (DA) de acordo com a presença ou ausência de DO associadas.Metodologia: Es...

Background 24-hour movement behaviors, including moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary time (ST), and sleep duration, have important implications for health across the lifespan. However, no studies exist that have examined the integration of these 24-hour movement behaviors in Latin America. The purpose of this study was to exami...

PurposeUnderstanding whole-grain intake and its associated factors is essential to tackle the double burden of malnutrition faced by Latin American countries. This study aimed to characterize total and whole grain intake in Latin American countries and to investigate foods contributing to these intake in the region. Methods Data were obtained from...

Overweight and obesity are often explained by an imbalance between energy intake and ex- penditure. This, in addition to metabolic effects, makes it difficult to assess the real state of individual energy balance. This study aims to analyze the energy gaps between intake and expenditure in the adult population of Latin America, as well as its relat...

Objetivo: Comparar o número de alimentos aceitos por crianças de 0 a 5 anos com seletividade alimentar que frequentam ou não a escola. Métodos: Estudo observacional retrospectivo, com dados de 94 crianças de 0 a 5 anos diagnosticadas com seletividade alimentar atendidas em um centro de referência. O diagnóstico do paciente é baseado na classificaçã...

Alcohol consumption is a modifiable risk factor for non-communicable diseases. This study aimed to characterize alcohol consumers at the nutritional, anthropometric, and sociodemographic levels. Data from 9218 participants from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela participating in “Latin American Health and N...

Diversos estudios epidemiológicos y de intervención apuntan a una asociación fuerte y consistente entre la ingesta excesiva de azúcares y el riesgo de desarrollar caries dentales y enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles. El objetivo fue describir los 10 principales alimentos que contribuyen a la ingesta de azúcares añadidos en muestras representati...

Despite the lack of a “gold-standard” definition and identification of influential factors for identifying feeding difficulties in children, many international studies have been published in recent years on the subject. Thus, the aim was to examine studies on children with feeding difficulties and their associated factors that impact on their diffi...

Introduction: Attributes of the neighborhood-built environment are associated with self-reported physical activity, but only a few studies have concentrated on device-measured physical activity in Latin America. This study examines the associations of perceived neighborhood-built environment attributes, device-measured sedentary time, and light-int...

Background Little is known about breakfast habits of the Latin American (LA) population to support nutritional recommendations for a balanced breakfast in this region. Objective To evaluate the nutritional composition of breakfast in LA and to propose recommendations for a balanced breakfast. Design This multicenter cross-sectional study evaluate...

Neck circumference (NC) is being used to identify the risk of chronic diseases. There is a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Latin America, and neck circumference is a simple and practical measurement to assess this, especially in primary health centers. We analyzed the correlation between the NC anthropometric indicator and other anthro...

Introduction: Attributes of the neighborhood built environment are associated with self-reported physical activity but only a few studies have concentrated on device-measured physical activity in Latin America. The aim of this study was to examine the associations of perceived neighborhood built environment attributes and device-measured sedentary...

This study aimed to examine the associations between active transportation and public transport and the objectively measured meeting of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and steps per day guidelines in adults by sex from eight Latin American countries. As part of the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health (ELANS), data were collec...

Objective To assess the association between the physical activity level and the built environment by accessibility, microinfrastructure and security in Latin America (LA). Design We conducted a multicentre cross-sectional study to collect physical activity and built environment data. The levels of physical activity were calculated through the Inte...

Background Active transportation is a crucial sort of physical activity for developing sustainable environments and provides essential health benefits. This is particularly important in Latin American countries because they present the highest burden of non-communicable diseases relative to other worldwide regions. This study aimed to examine the p...

Este libro expone las evidencias científicas actuales sobre el papel de la actividad física, el ejercicio y el deporte en la promoción y mantención de la salud, así como el tratamiento, control y rehabilitación de algunas enfermedades crónicas en la infancia y la adolescencia. El texto está organizado en 27 capítulos que abordan los siguientes tema...