Blood collection is carried out in partnership with local laboratories and all data is kept confidential and is only disclosed to participating mothers.
Tamires Moreno, beautician and mother of little Joaquim Miguel, aged nine months, received a visit from the interviewers and enjoyed hearing about the study. “I found it important to be concerned about infant nutrition, breast milk, and introducing children to a healthy diet. It’s important to take care of their diet so they don’t need medicine, supplements and have a better quality of life,” she praised.
Tamires also highlighted that, despite never having consulted a nutritionist, he always took care of his children’s diet, offering fruits, vegetables and proteins.
ENANI is conducted in 124 municipalities and 15 thousand homes visited between April 2024 and May 2025, promising to bring important insights to public health. In Pará, seven municipalities will be visited, with a total of 980 families. In Marabá, the ENANI team will spend four months doing field work. “We advise on the importance of the study, because the data will support the conduct of public policies”, reinforces Tereza Cristina.
The research aims not only to collect data, but also to raise awareness about healthy eating from the first years of life, seeking to prevent problems such as anemia and nutritional deficiencies, potentially worsened by the pandemic.
ENANI
What is it?
ENANI-2024 is the second edition of the National Study of Child Food and Nutrition, which will evaluate breastfeeding practices, complementary feeding and food consumption, anthropometric nutritional status and vitamin and mineral deficiencies in Brazilian children up to six years old and their mothers. The objective is to understand the food and nutritional scenario of this segment of the population five years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Health’s research is conducted by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Also participating in the study are: University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) and Federal University of Goiás (UFG).
How will the visits work?
Field researchers will conduct three activities:
– Interview: application of a structured questionnaire with questions about sociodemographic characteristics, breastfeeding and foods consumed the day before the interview and a 24-hour recall, to assess breastfeeding and food consumption.
– Anthropometric assessment: anthropometric measurements of mothers and children (weight and height/length) to classify nutritional status according to the World Health Organization (WHO) standard.
– Blood collection: It will be carried out by partner laboratories of the central laboratory Diagnósticos do Brasil (DB), for analysis of the markers hemoglobin, ferritin, alpha 1 acid glycoprotein, C-reactive protein, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and folate. The biological samples will form a biorepository, which will allow future complementary analyses.
Which application?
ENANI-2024 will produce updated data on the diet and nutrition of children up to 6 years old to support the implementation of public policies for this population. In addition to contributing to the redirection of Brazilian public policies, the study will provide evidence that, added to that produced in other countries, will be useful for understanding the impacts of the pandemic globally.
Call to ask questions about ENANI: 0800-880-022
Text: Osvaldo Henriques
Photos: Sara Lopes
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