Diet Diversity in Urban Costarican Populations: Results from Latinamerican Health and Nutrition Study


ELANS is a multicentre cross-sectional study of nutrition and health of a national representative sample of urban populations from eight countries in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela). A standard study protocol was designed to assess nutritional intake, physical activity levels and anthropometric measurements of 9,000 enrolled participants.

The study was based on complex and multistage sample design and the sample was stratified by sex, age (15 to 65 years) and socioeconomic level. A small-scale pilot study was conducted in each country to test the procedures and tools.

The overall objective of the project is to provide reliable and up-to-date data on food and beverage intake and physical activity and its association with the anthropometric profile of a representative sample of the urban population of eight Latin American countries, by region, socioeconomic status, age, and gender. ; and with this provide new scientific evidence for the analysis of the relationship between energy and nutrient intake, energy expenditure and anthropometric measures.

Below we present the scientific article (Spanish version) on the Diet Diversity in Urban Costarican Populations: Results from Latinamerican Health and Nutrition Study