Introduction:

Dairy products contribute significantly to the nutrient intake of the population; therefore, understanding the changes in dairy consumption is an important aspect of the nutritional surveillance system.

Objective:

To describe the changes in relative expenditures related to the apparent consumption of dairy products (with and without self-production) and the apparent consumption of calcium in Paraguayan households with children under 19 years of age during the 1997 to 2012 time period.

Materials and Methods:

This was a descriptive-analytical study of representative samples of households from the Integrated Household Survey (EIH 1997-98) and the Income and Expenditure Survey (EIG 2011-12), carried out by the Office of Statistics, Surveys and Censuses (DGEEC). The analysis was carried out for all surveyed households, both by income quintiles (Q1-Q5) and by area of residence (rural / urban).

Results:

Both relative expenditures and apparent consumption (AC) of dairy products (including self-production) increased minimally between 1997 and 2012: relative expenses increased from 12.8% to 13% and AC increased from 431 cc to 437 cc per capita per day. In terms of individual dairy products, the AC of milk and the AC of powdered milk decreased (-7.6% and -47.5%), while the AC of cheese and the AC of yogurt and other dairy products increased (26% and 67.1 %). The AC of dairy products showed differential changes according to household income, decreasing by 3.1% in households with the lowest income (Q1) and increasing by 6.5% in households with the highest income (Q5). Similarly, calcium AC increased marginally between 1997-2012 (from 502 mg to 514 mg per capita per day), decreasing by 2.6% in households with the lowest income (Q1) and increasing by 7.2% in households with the highest income (Q5). In both 1997 and 2012, the AC of dairy products and calcium increased with household income, but only the highest-income households (Q5) reached the daily recommendations for dairy products and calcium. Self-production contributed significantly to improving the recommended daily intake of dairy products and calcium, especially in rural areas.

Conclusions:

The apparent consumption of dairy products and calcium in Paraguayan households with children under 19 falls below the recommended daily allowances for all households with the exception of higher-income households.

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