IJCS | Volume 32, Nº6, November / December 2019

631 Table 6 - Comparison of nutritional status variables (dichotomized into “normal” and “altered”) between vegetarians and omnivores Variables Vegetarians Omnivores Total n (%) Chi-square test (p) n (%) n (%) BMI Normal 49 (87.5) 23 (57.5) 72 (75) 0.002* Altered 7 (12.5) 17 (42.5) 24 (25) WC Normal 51 (91.1) 26 (65.0) 77 (80.2) 0.004* Altered 5 (8.9) 14 (35.0) 19 (19.8) Glycemia (mg/dL) Normal 51 (91.1) 37 (92.5) 88 (91.7) 1.000 Altered 5 (8.9) 3 (7.5) 8 (8.3) TC (mg/dL) Normal 45 (80.4) 33 (82.5) 78 (81.3) 1.000 Altered 11 (19.6) 7 (17.5) 18 (18.8) HDL-c (mg/dL) Normal 41 (73.2) 20 (50.0) 61 (63.5) 0.034* Altered 15 (26.8) 20 (50.0) 35 (36.5) LDL (mg/dL) Normal 22 (39.3) 17 (42.5) 39 (40.6) 0.916 Altered 34 (60.7) 23 (57.5) 57 (59.4) TG (mg/dL) Normal 53 (94.6) 34 (85.0) 87 (90.6) 0.214 Altered 3 (5.4) 6 (15.0) 9 (9.4) *p < 0.05. BMI: body mass index; WC: waist circumference; TC: total cholesterol; HDL-c: high density lipoprotein; LDL: low density lipoprotein; TG: triglycerides. Pimentel et al. Nutritional status and vegetarians Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2019;32(6):623-634 Original Article A study on estimated prevalence of nutritional status categories among adults, residents of the city of São Paulo, based on self-reported information on weight and height from a population-based inquiry revealed important findings. 34 The prevalence of overweight and obesity in this population was 34.3% and 13.2%, respectively, indicating the need for an intervention, particularly due to the influence of obesity as a risk factor for severe complications. 34 These results are in accordance with VIGITEL, 35 which reported a prevalence of overweight among Brazilian men and women of 54.7% and 47.4%, respectively. This same study reported a 51% of overweight and 18% of obesity in the state of Sao Paulo in both sexes. Therefore, studies on nutritional strategies with significant positive effects on reducing obesity should guide clinical practices aimed at obesity prevention and weight control. Although there are few Brazilian studies evaluating the metabolic effects of vegetarian diets, there is a consensus that this eating pattern is associated with lower BMI, TG, TC and LDL-c compared with an omnivore diet. 20 Regarding CVDs, a meta-analysis investigated the mortality rate fromCVDs and cancer among vegetarians and omnivores. Mortality rate from CVDs and cancers was lower in vegetarians in seven cohort studies. 8,29 Analysis of mortality data from these cohorts showed that the distribution of deaths from CVDs between vegetarians and omnivores were not significantly different; however, one must consider the mild and moderate protective effects of vegetarian diets on CVDs must be considered. In Brazil a study that compared nutritional awareness betweenvegetariansandomnivoresshowedthatvegetarians followed a more balanced diet in terms of adequacy in the number of servings from each food group. 36 In addition, data from the Brazilian Family Budget Enquiry37 showed that individuals aged from 19 to 59 years showed the highest prevalence of inadequate inatake of vitaminD, E, AandC, calciumandmagnesium.