Furthermore, our data
suggest a switch to a variety of other
drinks, whereas in the US the dominant
pattern may be a switch towards fruit juice.18 22
Although some reports
suggest that nutrition trends in the northeast have been improving, 23 and others are documenting the rise in obesity in the middle class, 24 chronic malnutrition remains endemic and has advanced from the northeast's poorest rural areas to the urban peripheries.25 The standard food intake
pattern in Brazil is based on rice or manioc, beans, coffee, bread, beef and, increasingly, sugar in the form of soft
drinks and fruit juices, 26 none of which (except for beef liver) are noteworthy for their vitamin A content.