Availability and Nutritional Composition of Street Food in Urban Central Asia: Findings From Almaty, Kazakhstan

Autores da FMUP

• Nuno Miguel De Sousa Lunet

  Autor

Participantes de fora da FMUP

• Albuquerque, G
• Lan?a de Morais, I
• Gelormini, M
• Sousa, S
• Casal, S
• Pinho, O.
• Damasceno, A
• Moreira, P.
• Breda, J.
• Padr?o, P.

Unidades de investigação

• Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses, e Educação Médica

Abstract

Objective: To describe the availability and nutritional composition of commonly available street foods in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Methods: 384 street food vending sites (in 10 public markets) were assessed; information on vending sites? characteristics and food availability and samples of the most commonly available street foods (81 homemade; 40 industrial) were collected for chemical analysis. Results: Fruit, beverages and food other than fruit were available in 1.0%, 47.4% and 92.7% of all vending sites. Homemade food other than fruit (e.g., bread, main dishes, snacks, pastries, sandwiches, and cakes) were available in 63.4% of stationary vending sites, while industrial (e.g., snacks, chocolate, cakes, and cookies) in 45.6% of them. Industrial foods were the most energy-dense [median kcal/100?g: 438.8 vs. 267.2, p < 0.001 (homemade)]. Traditional homemade dishes were high in sodium, reaching 2,248?mg/serving (lagman) and major contributors of protein and fat to energy content (shashlik: 22.8% from protein, 68.3% from fat). Industrial chocolate and homemade cake presented the highest saturated (14.6?g/serving) and trans-fat (3.20?g/serving) contents. Conclusion: These findings advocate for the implementation of health promotion strategies targeted at vendors, consumers and other stakeholders. Copyright ? 2022 Albuquerque, Lan?a de Morais, Gelormini, Sousa, Casal, Pinho, Damasceno, Moreira, Breda, Lunet and Padr?o.

Keywords

• public health; central asia; Kazakhstan; nutritional value; ready-prepared foods; street food