Despite a worsening obesity epidemic and despite the American Medical Association (AMA) declaring Obesity a disease (2013), few assessment tools exist that assist practitioners who are charged with identifying risk for development of OW/OB in children. The Center for Health Statistics (2017) reported a 40% rate in obesity in the adult population and 18.5% in children in the U.S. Successful weight loss maintenance after 1 to 2 years of non-invasive treatment is less than 1%, indicating obesity is nearly incurable, making prevention imperative. Assessing risk for OW/OB in children has proven difficult given the lack of validated tools. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the predictive validity and estimate the reliability of the Electronic Kids Dietary Index (E-KINDEX) to measure risk for development of overweight and obesity OW/OB in children aged 10 to 18. In addition, the relationship between quality of life perceptions and OW/OB in children was assessed. Methods. E-KINDEX, a 30-item questionnaire encompassing three dietary domains of food quality, dietary behaviors (attitudes), and dietary habits (Lazarou et al., 2011), was administered to 50 child participants who, with their parents’ consent, agreed to participate. The children also completed the quality of life questionnaire. The range for E-KINDEX scores was 1 (worst) to 87 (best) for assessment of the obesogenic environment that encompasses the immediate environment of the individual, factors that influence food quality, choices, and behaviors. Predictive validity was evaluated using multiple regression, factor analysis, and receiver operating curve statistics in SPSS; reliability was analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha. Pearson product-moment correlations were used to measure strength of relationships among OW/OB, E-KINDEX scores, and quality of life perceptions in the sample. Results. E-KINDEX overall score was significantly correlated with OW/OB (r = -340, n = 50, p = .008), as was Dietary Behaviors (r = -.593, n = 50, p = Discussion. Predictive validity of E-KINDEX subscales and overall were supported through achievement of aims of the study. Correlations between both E-KINDEX scores and child weights were significant and reliability supported by Cronbach’s alpha. Limitations included small sample size of 50 and accuracy of children self-report data in the presence of parents. Parental weight did not correlate with E-KINDEX, but should be studied further relative to the Obesogenic Environment. Physical activity was high in both OW/OB and lean groups. Validated Physical Activity tools are needed. Implications. Although refinement and further study are needed, E-KINDEX is a useful tool for clinicians to identify children at risk for the chronic disease of OW/OB before it develops, perhaps before risk factors become difficult to modify.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the obesity pandemic in Latin America and identify the factors of development contributing to the pandemic. The paper uses the framework of the nutrition transition as presented by Barry Popkin to trace consumption patterns and changes in dietary habits in the region. The paper looks at three case studies: Mexico and Chile, two countries with high obesity rates, and Peru, the country with the lowest obesity rate in South America. This comparative framework is intended to determine which conditions are necessary for obesity, which conditions are sufficient for obesity, and any conditions that might limit high levels of obesity. The analysis includes ten distinct factors, but concludes that economic growth and urbanization were the most important determinants of a region developing obesity.

A obesidade decorre de um processo multifatorial que envolve aspectos biológicos, comportamentais e ambientais. Atualmente, o tema, por sua dimensão e universalidade, tem despertado o interesse coletivo, sobretudo da ciência, dos governos e da mídia. Um visível esforço está sendo empreendido com vistas ao controle dessa pandemia, com chamamento à responsabilidade de todos os stakeholders, entre eles os atores do Agronegócio mundial. Com o propósito de evidenciar os fundamentos científicos dessas iniciativas e as interrelações entre os agentes envolvidos, buscou-se identificar as dimensões disciplinares presentes nas publicações da FAO/WHO, do governo e da mídia dos Estados Unidos sobre obesogenicidade. Para tanto, foi realizada a análise documental das publicações divulgadas em meio eletrônico por cada um dos agentes, utilizando a mineração de texto. Para a construção dos argumentos que norteiam a pesquisa foram utilizadas as Teorias do Agendamento, do Enquadramento e Priming. Para a construção da estrutura analítica utilizada na mineração de texto foram utilizados 4.648 artigos científicos disponíveis no Portal Web of Science que abordam o tema. Além disso, para caracterizar a dimensão Agronegócio foram coletados todos os artigos publicados no Agribusiness International Journal e no International Food and Agribusiness Management Review no período de 2003-2013. Após a coleta, foram construídos os dicionários de palavras representativos de cada dimensão disciplinar e do Agronegócio, utilizados no escaneamento dos documentos. A base de dados foi composta por 3.342 políticas introduzidas ou promulgadas pelos estados norte-americanos, 1.168 artigos jornalísticos publicados no The New York Times e no The Washington Post e 67 publicações da FAO/WHO publicados no período de 2003-2013. Os resultados indicaram que a mídia tem enquadrado frequentemente a temática sob a perspectiva das Ciências da Saúde, seguida da Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio. Já para o governo, as dimensões disciplinares mais frequentes são Multidisciplinar, Agronegócio e as Ciências da Saúde. Na FAO/WHO as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio são as mais frequentes. Mesmo considerando as diferenças quanto ao enquadramento do tema pelos stakeholders, nota-se a existência de alguma semelhança entre esses enquadramentos, evidenciada pela similaridade entre as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e as Ciências da Vida. Destaca-se ainda que a participação do Agronegócio é expressiva nos instrumentos políticos dos Estados Unidos, sugerindo o seu papel no crescimento da obesidade coletiva e na sua responsabilidade frente à desejada reversão dessa tendência mundial. / Obesity results from a multifactorial process involving biological, behavioral, and environmental aspects. Today, the scale and universality of obesity has attracted widespread interest, especially among the scientific community, the government, and the media. A visible effort is being made to control this pandemic, with a call for responsibility by all stakeholders, including the leaders of the global agribusiness industry. Aiming to highlight the scientific foundations of these initiatives, and the interrelationships between those involved, we sought to identify the disciplinary dimensions regarding an obesogenic environment in the publications by the FAO/WHO, government, and media in the United States. Therefore, a documentary analysis of publications disseminated electronically by individual agents was conducted, using text mining. Agenda-setting theory, framing, and priming were used to construct the arguments that guide this research. To build the analytical framework used in text mining, 4.648 scientific articles available on the Web of Science portal addressing the issue were used. Furthermore, to characterize the scale of the situation, agribusiness articles published in the International Agribusiness Journal and the International Food and Agribusiness Management Review from 2003-2013 were also used. Subsequently, dictionaries of words representative of each disciplinary dimension and agribusiness were constructed and used while scanning the documents. The database comprised 3.342 introduced or promulgated policies by the North American states, 1.168 media articles published in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and 67 publications by the FAO/WHO, published during this period. The results indicated that the media has often framed the issue from the perspective of health sciences, followed by multidisciplinary and agribusiness. As for the government, the most frequent disciplinary dimensions are multidisciplinary area, agribusiness and health sciences. In the FAO/WHO, health sciences, multidisciplinary area and agribusiness are the most frequent. Even considering the differences in the framing of the issue by stakeholders, it is to be noted that there is some similarity between these frameworks, with a joint occurrence of the health sciences, life sciences, and multidisciplinary area. Note also that the participation of the agribusiness industry is significant in political instruments of the United States, suggesting its role in the growth of obesity and collective responsibility to be taken for the desired reversal of this global trend.

A obesidade decorre de um processo multifatorial que envolve aspectos biológicos, comportamentais e ambientais. Atualmente, o tema, por sua dimensão e universalidade, tem despertado o interesse coletivo, sobretudo da ciência, dos governos e da mídia. Um visível esforço está sendo empreendido com vistas ao controle dessa pandemia, com chamamento à responsabilidade de todos os stakeholders, entre eles os atores do Agronegócio mundial. Com o propósito de evidenciar os fundamentos científicos dessas iniciativas e as interrelações entre os agentes envolvidos, buscou-se identificar as dimensões disciplinares presentes nas publicações da FAO/WHO, do governo e da mídia dos Estados Unidos sobre obesogenicidade. Para tanto, foi realizada a análise documental das publicações divulgadas em meio eletrônico por cada um dos agentes, utilizando a mineração de texto. Para a construção dos argumentos que norteiam a pesquisa foram utilizadas as Teorias do Agendamento, do Enquadramento e Priming. Para a construção da estrutura analítica utilizada na mineração de texto foram utilizados 4.648 artigos científicos disponíveis no Portal Web of Science que abordam o tema. Além disso, para caracterizar a dimensão Agronegócio foram coletados todos os artigos publicados no Agribusiness International Journal e no International Food and Agribusiness Management Review no período de 2003-2013. Após a coleta, foram construídos os dicionários de palavras representativos de cada dimensão disciplinar e do Agronegócio, utilizados no escaneamento dos documentos. A base de dados foi composta por 3.342 políticas introduzidas ou promulgadas pelos estados norte-americanos, 1.168 artigos jornalísticos publicados no The New York Times e no The Washington Post e 67 publicações da FAO/WHO publicados no período de 2003-2013. Os resultados indicaram que a mídia tem enquadrado frequentemente a temática sob a perspectiva das Ciências da Saúde, seguida da Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio. Já para o governo, as dimensões disciplinares mais frequentes são Multidisciplinar, Agronegócio e as Ciências da Saúde. Na FAO/WHO as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio são as mais frequentes. Mesmo considerando as diferenças quanto ao enquadramento do tema pelos stakeholders, nota-se a existência de alguma semelhança entre esses enquadramentos, evidenciada pela similaridade entre as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e as Ciências da Vida. Destaca-se ainda que a participação do Agronegócio é expressiva nos instrumentos políticos dos Estados Unidos, sugerindo o seu papel no crescimento da obesidade coletiva e na sua responsabilidade frente à desejada reversão dessa tendência mundial. / Obesity results from a multifactorial process involving biological, behavioral, and environmental aspects. Today, the scale and universality of obesity has attracted widespread interest, especially among the scientific community, the government, and the media. A visible effort is being made to control this pandemic, with a call for responsibility by all stakeholders, including the leaders of the global agribusiness industry. Aiming to highlight the scientific foundations of these initiatives, and the interrelationships between those involved, we sought to identify the disciplinary dimensions regarding an obesogenic environment in the publications by the FAO/WHO, government, and media in the United States. Therefore, a documentary analysis of publications disseminated electronically by individual agents was conducted, using text mining. Agenda-setting theory, framing, and priming were used to construct the arguments that guide this research. To build the analytical framework used in text mining, 4.648 scientific articles available on the Web of Science portal addressing the issue were used. Furthermore, to characterize the scale of the situation, agribusiness articles published in the International Agribusiness Journal and the International Food and Agribusiness Management Review from 2003-2013 were also used. Subsequently, dictionaries of words representative of each disciplinary dimension and agribusiness were constructed and used while scanning the documents. The database comprised 3.342 introduced or promulgated policies by the North American states, 1.168 media articles published in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and 67 publications by the FAO/WHO, published during this period. The results indicated that the media has often framed the issue from the perspective of health sciences, followed by multidisciplinary and agribusiness. As for the government, the most frequent disciplinary dimensions are multidisciplinary area, agribusiness and health sciences. In the FAO/WHO, health sciences, multidisciplinary area and agribusiness are the most frequent. Even considering the differences in the framing of the issue by stakeholders, it is to be noted that there is some similarity between these frameworks, with a joint occurrence of the health sciences, life sciences, and multidisciplinary area. Note also that the participation of the agribusiness industry is significant in political instruments of the United States, suggesting its role in the growth of obesity and collective responsibility to be taken for the desired reversal of this global trend.

A obesidade decorre de um processo multifatorial que envolve aspectos biológicos, comportamentais e ambientais. Atualmente, o tema, por sua dimensão e universalidade, tem despertado o interesse coletivo, sobretudo da ciência, dos governos e da mídia. Um visível esforço está sendo empreendido com vistas ao controle dessa pandemia, com chamamento à responsabilidade de todos os stakeholders, entre eles os atores do Agronegócio mundial. Com o propósito de evidenciar os fundamentos científicos dessas iniciativas e as interrelações entre os agentes envolvidos, buscou-se identificar as dimensões disciplinares presentes nas publicações da FAO/WHO, do governo e da mídia dos Estados Unidos sobre obesogenicidade. Para tanto, foi realizada a análise documental das publicações divulgadas em meio eletrônico por cada um dos agentes, utilizando a mineração de texto. Para a construção dos argumentos que norteiam a pesquisa foram utilizadas as Teorias do Agendamento, do Enquadramento e Priming. Para a construção da estrutura analítica utilizada na mineração de texto foram utilizados 4.648 artigos científicos disponíveis no Portal Web of Science que abordam o tema. Além disso, para caracterizar a dimensão Agronegócio foram coletados todos os artigos publicados no Agribusiness International Journal e no International Food and Agribusiness Management Review no período de 2003-2013. Após a coleta, foram construídos os dicionários de palavras representativos de cada dimensão disciplinar e do Agronegócio, utilizados no escaneamento dos documentos. A base de dados foi composta por 3.342 políticas introduzidas ou promulgadas pelos estados norte-americanos, 1.168 artigos jornalísticos publicados no The New York Times e no The Washington Post e 67 publicações da FAO/WHO publicados no período de 2003-2013. Os resultados indicaram que a mídia tem enquadrado frequentemente a temática sob a perspectiva das Ciências da Saúde, seguida da Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio. Já para o governo, as dimensões disciplinares mais frequentes são Multidisciplinar, Agronegócio e as Ciências da Saúde. Na FAO/WHO as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio são as mais frequentes. Mesmo considerando as diferenças quanto ao enquadramento do tema pelos stakeholders, nota-se a existência de alguma semelhança entre esses enquadramentos, evidenciada pela similaridade entre as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e as Ciências da Vida. Destaca-se ainda que a participação do Agronegócio é expressiva nos instrumentos políticos dos Estados Unidos, sugerindo o seu papel no crescimento da obesidade coletiva e na sua responsabilidade frente à desejada reversão dessa tendência mundial. / Obesity results from a multifactorial process involving biological, behavioral, and environmental aspects. Today, the scale and universality of obesity has attracted widespread interest, especially among the scientific community, the government, and the media. A visible effort is being made to control this pandemic, with a call for responsibility by all stakeholders, including the leaders of the global agribusiness industry. Aiming to highlight the scientific foundations of these initiatives, and the interrelationships between those involved, we sought to identify the disciplinary dimensions regarding an obesogenic environment in the publications by the FAO/WHO, government, and media in the United States. Therefore, a documentary analysis of publications disseminated electronically by individual agents was conducted, using text mining. Agenda-setting theory, framing, and priming were used to construct the arguments that guide this research. To build the analytical framework used in text mining, 4.648 scientific articles available on the Web of Science portal addressing the issue were used. Furthermore, to characterize the scale of the situation, agribusiness articles published in the International Agribusiness Journal and the International Food and Agribusiness Management Review from 2003-2013 were also used. Subsequently, dictionaries of words representative of each disciplinary dimension and agribusiness were constructed and used while scanning the documents. The database comprised 3.342 introduced or promulgated policies by the North American states, 1.168 media articles published in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and 67 publications by the FAO/WHO, published during this period. The results indicated that the media has often framed the issue from the perspective of health sciences, followed by multidisciplinary and agribusiness. As for the government, the most frequent disciplinary dimensions are multidisciplinary area, agribusiness and health sciences. In the FAO/WHO, health sciences, multidisciplinary area and agribusiness are the most frequent. Even considering the differences in the framing of the issue by stakeholders, it is to be noted that there is some similarity between these frameworks, with a joint occurrence of the health sciences, life sciences, and multidisciplinary area. Note also that the participation of the agribusiness industry is significant in political instruments of the United States, suggesting its role in the growth of obesity and collective responsibility to be taken for the desired reversal of this global trend.

Childhood obesity affects roughly 1 in 5 children in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Childhood obesity is related to health concerns including physical illness, mental illness, and occupational imbalance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016; Cantal, 2019; Pizzi, 2016). An in-depth literature review revealed that there are very few childhood obesity programs that support children at the familial or individual level. Rather, current programs are standardized, manualized, and do not allow for customization (Chomitz et al., 2010; Salmon et al., 2008). Program benefits vary based on the participants’ personal and familial factors and supports (Chomitz et al., 2010; Salmon et al., 2008). Therefore, many children do not receive the optimal benefits that these programs suggest. The author developed a 12-week, evidence-based, intervention program designed to guide occupational therapists in treating children with obesity. Behavior change theories guided both the understanding of the problem and the development of the program. Fit 4 You utilizes a flexible intervention approach that allows for customization of the program for each participant, therefore accounting for their personal and familial factors. The Fit 4 You intervention is guided by four evidence-based concepts: (1) planning, (2) self-efficacy, (3) practice and (4) fun. The short and long-term outcomes of this program provide necessary services to an in-need population and contribute to evidence-based practice for occupational therapists. Findings from the program evaluation research will used to improve the program design and will be disseminated to families and occupational therapists to promote program expansion.

O objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar a relação entre a prevalência de obesidade e percepção do ambiente para a prática de atividades físicas em adultos de Itirapuã - SP. Desenvolveu-se um estudo do tipo transversal de base populacional com 216 adultos. Dados sócio demográficos e comportamentais foram obtidos por meio de um questionário estruturado. A percepção do ambiente para a prática de atividade física foi avaliada por meio de um questionário estruturado adaptado da Neighborhood Environmental Walkability Scale (NEWS), previamente validado para a população brasileira. As prevalências de excesso de peso e obesidade (IC 95%) foram estimadas. Para avaliar a associação entre o excesso de peso (sobrepeso e obesidade) e a percepção do ambiente para a prática de atividade física foram empregados modelos de regressão logística bivariados e ajustados por sexo e idade. Dentre os 216 adultos avaliados, 55% eram do sexo feminino e a média de idade foi de 37 (12) anos. Elevada proporção de sobrepeso (31%) e obesidade (25,5%) foi observada. Em modelos de regressão ajustados por sexo e idade, verificou-se que os indivíduos que residiam em locais mais distantes de escolas de ensino fundamental [OR 1,99 (IC95% 1,13; 3,47)], locadoras de filmes [OR 2,33 (IC95% 1,29; 4,19)] e praças ou locais ao ar livre onde pudessem praticar atividade física [OR 2,05 (IC95% 1,15; 3,66)] apresentaram maior chance de ocorrência de excesso de peso. Quanto ao nível de satisfação com o bairro, observou-se que a satisfação com a qualidade e quantidade de supermercados no bairro de residência estava inversamente associada à ocorrência de excesso de peso [OR 0,14 (IC95% 0,03; 0,69)]. Os dados sugerem que os adultos residentes em municípios de pequeno porte também são influenciados pelo ambiente para a prática de atividade física e que este está associado à ocorrência do excesso de peso. / The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the prevalence of obesity and the perception of the environment for the practice of physical activity in adults from Itirapuã, São Paulo state. A population-based cross-sectional study involving 216 adults was conducted. Sociodemographic and behavioral data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The perception of the environment for the practice of physical activity was assessed by an adapted version of the structured questionnaire Neighborhood Environmental Walkability Scale (NEWS) validated for use in the Brazilian population. Prevalences of both overweight and obesity (95% CI) were estimated. Bivariate logistic regression models, adjusted for gender and age, were employed to assess the relationship between excess weight (overweight and obesity) and perception of the environment for the practice of physical activity. Of the 216 adults assessed, 55% were women and mean age was 37 (±12) years. A high rate of overweight (31%) and obesity (25.5%) was found. The regression models adjusted for gender and age revealed that individuals living far from primary schools [OR 1.99 (95%CI 1.13; 3.47)], movie rental stores [OR 2.33 (95%CI 1.29; 4.19)] and squares or spaces outside to perform physical activities [OR 2.05 (95%CI 1.15; 3.66)] had a higher risk of excess weight. Regarding level of satisfaction with the neighborhood, satisfaction with the quality and quantity of supermarkets in the neighborhood of residence was inversely associated with excess weight [OR 0.14 (95%CI 0.03; 0.69)]. These results suggest that adults living in small towns are also influenced by the environment in terms of practice of physical activity and that this is associated with excess weight.

The application of geographic information systems was used to map obesogenic conditions by zip code tabulation areas in Durham County, North Carolina and evaluated associations between those conditions and the understudied area of early childhood obesity. Of the thirty one percent of the children in Durham County, North Carolina who were considered obese in 2010, four hundred and thirty three (1:5) 2 - 4 year old children who received supplemental nutrition services for women, infants and children were obese with BMI levels greater or equal to the 95th percentile and were used as the criterion variable in the study (N=433). The study's research questions examined conditions of the neighborhood that impeded the weight status of young children. The theoretical framework included the environmental stress, socioeconomic, multiple exposures-multiple effects, and attachment theories. The twenty - six variables used in this secondary quantitative study included demographics on socioeconomic and education levels, home occupancy and vacancy rates, age of homes, and neighborhood accessibility features: access to parks; recreation facilities; grocery stores verses convenience stores; fast food restaurants; medical facilities; schools; day cares; and neighborhood incivilities such as numbers of reported crimes. The t - test were configured as Grouping Variables with the cut-point of 18.7% and with an Alpha of .05 and produced statistical significance on five of twenty - six variables. A mean rate of 19.3% yielded statistical significance on ten of twenty - six variables. The Levene's Test for Equality of Variances expressed assumptions on scores met for statistical significance on t-test at the Alpha = 0.05 level for twenty - four of the twenty - six variables. The results of this study would possibly increase the use of the innovative geographic information systems to inform policy decisions, environmental interventions and environmental design on obesogenic correlates between the understudied area of early childhood obesity and the built environment.

Esta tese tem como ampla proposta apresentar evidências a respeito da situação de segurança alimentar mundial, já que o mundo enfrenta problemas graves e urgentes relacionados à insegurança alimentar. Para tanto, são apresentados cinco estudos que abordam tal temática. O primeiro estudo se propõe a investigar as exportações de feijão brasileiro, observando as condições de segurança alimentar de seus compradores. O segundo estudo busca discutir os perfis agrícolas das principais regiões da África, bem como a parceria estabelecida entre a África e o Brasil com intuído de fomentar a inovação na agricultura e o desenvolvimento econômico. O terceiro estudo busca identificar e analisar os principais padrões de abastecimento alimentar da população mundial, e, em seguida, relacioná-los com as respectivas condições de desnutrição de suas localidades. A hipótese é que existem padrões de suprimento específicos, geograficamente identificáveis, que estão associados com o desalinhamento nutricional de certas populações em maior grau do que outras. O quarto estudo investiga a situação e a tendência de insegurança alimentar em todo o mundo considerando suas principais regiões geográficas. O quinto estudo objetivou analisar o impacto de fatores sócio-econômicos e comportamentais sobre a situação obesogênica em todo o mundo. Para tanto, os estudos se baseiam em dados disponibilizados por entidades e órgão oficiais como FAO, WHO, UNSD, IBGE e Banco Mundial. Além disso, para a análise dos dados foram empregadas técnicas de estatísticas descritivas, análise do coeficiente de correlação (Pearson e Spearman), regressão linear (múltipla e simples), análise de cluster e análise fatorial. Também foram elaborados diagramas de dispersão e gráficos de séries temporais. Os resultados sugerem que os modelos de suprimento alimentar estão significativamente relacionados aos problemas de insegurança alimentar mundial. Também ficou evidenciado que algumas nações e regiões mundiais enfrentam gravidades severas de segurança alimentar, com tendências alarmantes de agravamento. Especificamente a região do sul da África apresenta aumento tanto de sobrepeso quando baixo peso infantil. Já os países do leste asiático apresentam os melhores indicadores de segurança alimentar. Também o estudo sugere que o Brasil tem potencial de auxiliar na promoção da segurança alimentar, tanto por meio da produção e suprimento de alimentos, como por meio de parcerias inovativas com regiões mais desfavorecidas como a África subsaariana. As implicações deste estudo abrangem o âmbito das políticas públicas, práticas privadas e elementos econômico-sociais. As evidências aqui apresentadas poderão auxiliar no desenvolvimento de iniciativas em prol da promoção da segurança alimentar mundial. Além disso, o papel do agronegócio Brasileiro como potencial atenuador da insegurança alimentar mundial é destacado, necessitando de uma articulação política e privada para seu desenvolvimento sustentável. / The wide proposal of this thesis is to present evidence about the situation of food security worldwide, since the world is facing severe and urgent problems related to this issue. Considering this finality, this thesis is composed by five studies addressing the food security worldwide issue. The first study aims to investigate the export of Brazilian dry-beans, observing the conditions of food security of importers. The second study aims to discuss the agricultural profiles of the main regions of Africa, as well as the partnership between Africa and Brazil established to foster innovation in agriculture and economic development. The third study seeks to identify and analyze the main food supply patterns of the world's population, and then relate them to their conditions of malnutrition in their localities. The hypothesis is that there are specific supply patterns, geographically identifiable, which are associated with nutritional misalignment of certain populations to a greater degree than others. The fourth study investigates the status and trend of food insecurity around the world considering its major geographic regions. The fifth study aimed to analyze the impact of socio-economic and behavioral factors on obesogenic situation worldwide. All five studies are based on data available at official organizations and institutions as FAO, WHO, UNSD, World Bank and IBGE. In addition, data analysis techniques complies descriptive statistics, correlation analysis (Pearson and Spearman), linear regression (simple and multiple), cluster analysis and factor analysis. Scatterplots and time series graphs were also elaborated. The main results suggest that food supply patterns are significantly related to the problems of global food insecurity. It was also found that some nations and world regions face severe severities of food security, with alarming trends of worsening. Specifically, Southern Africa region has increased prevalence of overweight and underweight children. The countries of Eastern Asia have the best indicators of food security, considering anthropometric indicators. The study also suggests that Brazil has the potential to assist the promotion of food security worldwide through the production and supply of food, and through innovative partnerships with poorer regions like sub-Saharan Africa. The implications of this study include the realm of public policy, private practices and economic-social elements. The evidence presented here may assist in developing initiatives for the promotion of world food security. Furthermore, the role of the Brazilian agribusiness as potential attenuator of food insecurity worldwide is highlighted, requiring political and private articulation for the sustainable development.

Esta tese tem como ampla proposta apresentar evidências a respeito da situação de segurança alimentar mundial, já que o mundo enfrenta problemas graves e urgentes relacionados à insegurança alimentar. Para tanto, são apresentados cinco estudos que abordam tal temática. O primeiro estudo se propõe a investigar as exportações de feijão brasileiro, observando as condições de segurança alimentar de seus compradores. O segundo estudo busca discutir os perfis agrícolas das principais regiões da África, bem como a parceria estabelecida entre a África e o Brasil com intuído de fomentar a inovação na agricultura e o desenvolvimento econômico. O terceiro estudo busca identificar e analisar os principais padrões de abastecimento alimentar da população mundial, e, em seguida, relacioná-los com as respectivas condições de desnutrição de suas localidades. A hipótese é que existem padrões de suprimento específicos, geograficamente identificáveis, que estão associados com o desalinhamento nutricional de certas populações em maior grau do que outras. O quarto estudo investiga a situação e a tendência de insegurança alimentar em todo o mundo considerando suas principais regiões geográficas. O quinto estudo objetivou analisar o impacto de fatores sócio-econômicos e comportamentais sobre a situação obesogênica em todo o mundo. Para tanto, os estudos se baseiam em dados disponibilizados por entidades e órgão oficiais como FAO, WHO, UNSD, IBGE e Banco Mundial. Além disso, para a análise dos dados foram empregadas técnicas de estatísticas descritivas, análise do coeficiente de correlação (Pearson e Spearman), regressão linear (múltipla e simples), análise de cluster e análise fatorial. Também foram elaborados diagramas de dispersão e gráficos de séries temporais. Os resultados sugerem que os modelos de suprimento alimentar estão significativamente relacionados aos problemas de insegurança alimentar mundial. Também ficou evidenciado que algumas nações e regiões mundiais enfrentam gravidades severas de segurança alimentar, com tendências alarmantes de agravamento. Especificamente a região do sul da África apresenta aumento tanto de sobrepeso quando baixo peso infantil. Já os países do leste asiático apresentam os melhores indicadores de segurança alimentar. Também o estudo sugere que o Brasil tem potencial de auxiliar na promoção da segurança alimentar, tanto por meio da produção e suprimento de alimentos, como por meio de parcerias inovativas com regiões mais desfavorecidas como a África subsaariana. As implicações deste estudo abrangem o âmbito das políticas públicas, práticas privadas e elementos econômico-sociais. As evidências aqui apresentadas poderão auxiliar no desenvolvimento de iniciativas em prol da promoção da segurança alimentar mundial. Além disso, o papel do agronegócio Brasileiro como potencial atenuador da insegurança alimentar mundial é destacado, necessitando de uma articulação política e privada para seu desenvolvimento sustentável. / The wide proposal of this thesis is to present evidence about the situation of food security worldwide, since the world is facing severe and urgent problems related to this issue. Considering this finality, this thesis is composed by five studies addressing the food security worldwide issue. The first study aims to investigate the export of Brazilian dry-beans, observing the conditions of food security of importers. The second study aims to discuss the agricultural profiles of the main regions of Africa, as well as the partnership between Africa and Brazil established to foster innovation in agriculture and economic development. The third study seeks to identify and analyze the main food supply patterns of the world's population, and then relate them to their conditions of malnutrition in their localities. The hypothesis is that there are specific supply patterns, geographically identifiable, which are associated with nutritional misalignment of certain populations to a greater degree than others. The fourth study investigates the status and trend of food insecurity around the world considering its major geographic regions. The fifth study aimed to analyze the impact of socio-economic and behavioral factors on obesogenic situation worldwide. All five studies are based on data available at official organizations and institutions as FAO, WHO, UNSD, World Bank and IBGE. In addition, data analysis techniques complies descriptive statistics, correlation analysis (Pearson and Spearman), linear regression (simple and multiple), cluster analysis and factor analysis. Scatterplots and time series graphs were also elaborated. The main results suggest that food supply patterns are significantly related to the problems of global food insecurity. It was also found that some nations and world regions face severe severities of food security, with alarming trends of worsening. Specifically, Southern Africa region has increased prevalence of overweight and underweight children. The countries of Eastern Asia have the best indicators of food security, considering anthropometric indicators. The study also suggests that Brazil has the potential to assist the promotion of food security worldwide through the production and supply of food, and through innovative partnerships with poorer regions like sub-Saharan Africa. The implications of this study include the realm of public policy, private practices and economic-social elements. The evidence presented here may assist in developing initiatives for the promotion of world food security. Furthermore, the role of the Brazilian agribusiness as potential attenuator of food insecurity worldwide is highlighted, requiring political and private articulation for the sustainable development.