The 2024 Annual Report from the National Program for the Promotion of Healthy Eating (PNPAS) of the General Directorate of Health (DGS) was released on World Food Day, highlighting advancements in food availability and an increased capacity of Primary Health Care in the area of nutrition.
The report positions Portugal among European countries with the lowest average salt content in bakery products, processed potato-based products, canned ready-to-eat meals, fresh ready-to-eat meals, and cheeses, as well as a lower average sugar content in soft drinks and sweet cakes and cookies.
“These data result from a European Union effort to have a monitoring system for food offerings in all EU countries,” explained Maria João Gregório, director of PNPAS, emphasizing the evaluation of food composition evolution across different countries and the impact of various implemented measures.
According to Maria João Gregório, Portugal has been defining “a strong strategy in the area of food product reformulation,” in collaboration with the industry and distribution sectors, contributing to these results.
The report also analyzes the impact of the special consumption tax on sugary drinks, showing a 39% decrease in the proportion of beverages with 8 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters from 2017 to 2024.
Gregório pointed out that this tax is “one of the factors that contributed to this result.”
“This sustained effect demonstrates the decisive role of fiscal policies in promoting healthier food environments,” the report adds.
The DGS notes that in categories such as breakfast cereals, yogurts, and processed meats, the average salt and sugar content remains above the European average, underscoring the need to continue investing in food product reformulation in Portugal.
The findings also suggest that “regulatory measures are more effective than voluntary agreements, as sugar reduction was significantly higher in taxed soft drinks (-25.7%) compared to categories only covered by voluntary commitments (-14.8%),” the report notes.
For the first time, the report includes data on the response of primary health care (PHC) in nutrition, revealing that nearly 137,000 consultations were conducted in 2024, a 30% increase compared to 2022.
In 2024, the average number of days from referral to nutrition consultation was 94 days, with consultations primarily conducted with women aged 45 to 59.
Gregório highlighted the positive increase in consultations but indicated that the response capacity in PHC “is still not adequate”: “We still have a waiting period between consultation scheduling and execution that is not yet desirable.”
She emphasized the crucial role of PHC in promoting healthy eating and in preventing and managing a broad range of chronic diseases that constitute the majority of the disease burden in Portugal.
“The nutrition response is indeed fundamental in this area,” she asserted.
Data on overweight and obesity registration in PHC show a positive trend, which, according to the DGS, “may indicate improved performance of the National Health Service (SNS) in identifying individuals with pre-obesity and obesity, as well as their registration as clinical diagnoses.”
In 2024, 36.7% of hospitalized patients underwent nutritional screening, totaling 206,339 patients, with 25.7% found at nutritional risk.
“Over recent years, we have progressively improved hospital care’s capacity to identify nutritional risk in hospital patients,” stressed the director.
She noted that the percentage of patients at nutritional risk is comparable to other countries and various published studies: “We are discussing nutritional risk in a very specific population, patients in a hospital setting,” she commented.
