Disparities in the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption by socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics in Canada

Abstract

BackgroundThe health benefits of adequate fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption are significant and widely documented. However, many individuals self-report low F&V consumption frequency per day. This paper examines the disparities in the frequency of F&V consumption by socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics.MethodThis study uses a representative sample of 93,719 individuals from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2007). A quantile regression model is estimated in order to capture the differential effects of F&V determinants across the conditional distribution of F&V consumption.ResultsThe conditional and unconditional analyses reveal the existence of a socioeconomic gradient in F&V consumption frequency, in which the low income-education groups consume F&V less frequently than the high income-education groups. We also find significant disparities in F&V consumption frequency by demographic and lifestyle characteristics. The frequency of F&V consumption is relatively lower among: males, those in middle age, singles, smokers, individuals with weak social interaction and households with no children. The quantile regression results show that the association between F&V consumption frequency, and socio-demographic and lifestyle factors varies significantly along the conditional F&V consumption distribution. In particular, individual educational attainment is positively and significantly associated with F&V consumption frequency across different parts of the F&V distribution, while the income level matters only over the lower half of the distribution. F&V consumption follows a U-shaped pattern across the age categories. Those aged 30-39, 40-49 and 50-59 years consume F&V less frequently than those aged 18-29 years. The smallest F&V consumption is among the middle aged adults (40-49).ConclusionsUnderstanding the socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics of individuals with low F&V consumption frequency could increase the effectiveness of policies aimed at promoting F&V consumption. The differential effects of individual characteristics along the F&V consumption distribution suggest the need for a multifaceted approach to address the variation in F&V consumption frequency.

Trends in the inequality of fruit and vegetable consumption between education levels indicated by the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

“…6,19,[32][33][34][35] For vegetables, Kimchi intake was higher in the low-education group, which is consistent with the results of a previous Korean study. 5 In contrast, vegetable intake without Kimchi was lower in the low-education group.…”

Disparties in fruit and vegetable intake by Socio-demographic characteristics in peri-urban Nepalese adults: findings from the Heart-health Associated Research and Dissemination in the Community (HARDIC) Study, Bhaktapur, Nepal

“…Comparatively, a highincome country like Canada has on average a fruit and vegetable consumption of 4.95 servings per day 10 . Fruit and vegetable intake has been studied in other Asian health demographic surveillance sites (HDSS) as well 24 .…”

“…Ghanaian men and women have the lowest prevalence of low fruit and vegetable consumption (36.6 and 38.0 percent, respectively) while Pakistani men and women have a staggeringly high prevalence of 99.2 and 99.3 percent 8 . Besides the inter-country variation, there are discrepancies within a region 9 , country 10 , and even within a community 11 . There have been attempts to explore reasons for these differences and, besides the obvious ecological, availability and affordability variations, many sociodemographic aspects and psychosocial factors have surfaced [12][13][14][15] .…”

The role of emotional states in fruit and vegetable consumption in Brazilian adults

“…Generally, women, married and white people, those with better education and income, physically active, non-smokers, and with moderate alcohol consumption habits tend to consume adequately FV [9][10][11][12] .…”