Diet of Finnish Children in Relation to the Family's Socio-Economic Status

Abstract

The differences between higher and lower socio-economic groups in food consumption, energy intake and nutrient density of the diet of Finnish 9- to 15-year-old children were examined in a study performed within the project entitled Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns. Data on food consumption were collected using the 48-hour recall method. Family's socio-economic status was defined according to the father's educational level, his occupation, and family income. Children of families with higher socio-economic status used more fruit, low-fat milk, soft vegetable margarine and less high-fat milk, butter, rye products and coffee than did the children of families with lower socioeconomic status. Consequently, the main differences appeared in the fat, vitamin D, vitamin C and fatty acid content of the diet. Differences in energy intake and in mineral density of the diet were minor. If these childhood dietary differences remain in adulthood, it is possible that the present disparity between socio-economic groups in mortality from coronary heart disease will not disappear.

Dietary factors and their associations with socioeconomic background in Finnish girls and boys 6–8 years of age: the PANIC Study

“…However, previously reported low consumption of vegetables and fruit in school children and adolescents from families with a low socioeconomic status (Haapalahti et al, 2003, Laitinen et al, 1995 was not found in the present study.…”

“…However, data on the diet of primary school children are scarce. Moreover, Finnish school children and adolescents from families with a lower socioeconomic status have been suggested to have less healthy dietary factors, such as a lower consumption of vegetables and fruit and a higher consumption of high-fat milk and butter than children from families with a higher socioeconomic status (Haapalahti et al, 2003, Laitinen et al, 1995. However, there are few studies on the association of socioeconomic background of a family with dietary habits of younger school children.…”

Intake of vitamin D by Finnish children aged 3 months to 3 years in relation to sociodemographic factors

“…In a Finnish study, the 9-to 15-year-old children of farmers had lower vitamin D intake than the children of the upper and lower white-and blue-collar workers. The children of fathers with less than 9 years of formal education had the lowest intake of vitamin D (Laitinen et al, 1995). In our previous study, the level of parental education was positively associated with the child's vitamin D supplementation at the age of 2 years (Marjamäki et al, 2004).…”

“…The variations in vitamin D intake and vitamin D status have been linked to social class (Gregory et al, 1995;Laitinen et al, 1995). In a Finnish study, the 9-to 15-year-old children of farmers had lower vitamin D intake than the children of the upper and lower white-and blue-collar workers.…”

Le gradient social de l’obésité se creuse en France – Sait-on pourquoi ?

“…Ces nourrissons ont également un risque plus élevé d'avoir un petit poids à la naissance, de ne pas être allaités [11][12][13][14] et d'être nourris précocement avec du lait de vache (demi-écrémé, donc riche en protéines), autant de facteurs supposés augmenter le risque d'obésité future [15][16][17]. Les enfants et adolescents de milieux défavorisés sont plus sédentaires [18][19][20][21][22], ils mangent plus souvent devant la télévision [23,24], consomment moins de fruits et légumes en quantité [25,26] et en variété [27], et plus de boissons sucrées [28][29][30][31] que les jeunes issus de milieux aisés. De nombreuses études, souvent menées à l'étranger, mettent en évidence un faible niveau d'activité physique, une forte sédenta-rité [10, [32][33][34][35][36] et des déséquilibres alimentaires prononcés dans les populations adultes de faible SSE (revue de la littérature in [37]).…”