title: Frozen chicken for wild fish: nutritional transition in the Brazilian Amazon region determined by carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in fingernails.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Amazonian populations are experiencing dietary changes characteristic of the nutrition transition. However, the degree of change appears to vary between urban and rural settings. To investigate this process, we determined carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in fingernails and dietary intake of Amazonian populations living along a rural to urban continuum along the Solimões River in Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were analyzed from the fingernails of 431 volunteer subjects living in different settings ranging from rural villages, small towns to urban centers along the Solimões River. Data from 200 dietary intake surveys were also collected using food frequency questionnaires and 24-h recall interviews in an effort to determine qualitative aspects of diet composition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fingernail δ(13) C values (mean ± standard deviation) were -23.2 ± 1.3, -20.2 ± 1.5, and -17.4 ± 1.3‰ and δ(15) N values were 11.8 ± 0.6, 10.4 ± 0.8, and 10.8 ± 0.7‰ for those living in rural villages, small towns, and major cities, respectively. We found a gradual increase in the number of food items derived from C(4) plant types (meat and sugar) and the replacement of food items derived from C(3) plant types (fish and manioc flour) with increasing size of urban centers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increasing urbanization in the Brazilian Amazon is associated with a significant change in food habits with processed and industrialized products playing an increasingly important role in the diet and contributing to the nutrition transition in the region.
authors.affiliation: CENA, Universidade de São Paulo, Campus de Piracicaba, Av. Centenário 303, Piracicaba, SP, 13416-000, Brazil. gbnardoto@unb.br
authors.forename: Gabriela B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Nardoto
authors.forename: Rui Sergio S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Murrieta
authors.forename: Luís Enrique G
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Prates
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Maria Elisa P E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Garavello
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schor
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Moraes
authors.forename: Fernando D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
authors.forename: Juliana G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Gragnani
authors.forename: Edila A F
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.forename: Paulo J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Duarte-Neto
authors.forename: Luiz A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Martinelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007553:Isotope Labeling / Q000379:methods*; D007633:Keratins / Q000032:analysis; D009262:Nails / Q000737:chemistry; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D014507:Urbanization
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D007633:Keratins