Regional and socioeconomic variations in dietary patterns in a representative sample of young polish females: a cross-sectional study (GEBaHealth project)

Abstract

Background Associations between dietary patterns (DPs) and socioeconomic correlates among adolescents from emerging economy countries are not fully understood. The study analysed variations in DPs adherence depending on country regions and family socioeconomic status (SES) among Polish females. Methods Data from a representative sample (n = 1107) of Polish females 13–21-year-old was used. Four DPs were previously identified by principal component analysis. Regions were ranked by Gross Domestic Product. A SES index as an overall measure of family SES was developed. Multiple logistic regression models adjusted for age and body mass index were created. Results Higher adherence to ‘Fast-food and sweets’ DP was found in the less affluent (North) region when compared to four other regions (Odds ratio (OR): 1.94 to 1.63). Higher adherence to ‘Fruit and vegetables’ DP was found in more affluent regions when compared to poorer regions: East and North-East (OR 1.71 to 1.81 and 1.69 to 2.23, respectively). Higher adherence to ‘Traditional Polish’ DP was found in 4 out of 5 regions (OR 2.02 to 2.53) when compared to the East. Higher family SES was associated with higher adherence to ‘Fruit and vegetables’ DP (OR 2.06) and lower adherence to ‘Traditional Polish’ DP (OR 0.27). Conclusions The study revealed that region’s affluence is strongly reflected in dietary behaviours of young females from a transitioning country. Recognising geographical distribution of dietary patterns within the country and shifting the resources to economically disadvantaged regions might be more effective than current national public health interventions.

Fast food consumption among young adolescents aged 12–15 years in 54 low- and middle-income countries

“…In our study, height and weight in the GSHSs were self-reported [27]; thus, the prevalence of obesity might be underestimated. Previous studies have shown that SES was negatively associated with fast-food consumption [28,29]. Our detailed logistic-regression analysis revealed that food insecurity, which is usually regarded as a proxy for SES, was positively associated with fast-food consumption ( Table 3).…”

Role of Food Neophobia and Allergen Content in Food Choices for a Polish Cohort of Young Women

“…As a result, it is observed that food products labeled as ‘free from’ any ingredient can be perceived as better for health, in comparison with products with no such information [19]. However, following a restricted diet, based on avoiding some type of products, could result in a deficiency in healthy individuals without health issues, which was indicated as a possible health risk in a national Polish study in a representative cohort of girls and young women [46]. For example, gluten-free processed grain products are often lower in fiber, iron, zinc, and potassium than normal grain products [47].…”

Data-Driven Dietary Patterns and Diet Quality Scores: Reproducibility and Consistency in Sex and Age Subgroups of Poles Aged 15–65 Years

“…Dietary patterns (DPs) enable a comprehensive assessment of the habitual diet and are widely used in epidemiological studies [1][2][3][4][5]. Identification of DPs emphasizes the importance of holistic evaluation of the diet as different foods are consumed in complex combinations and their synergistic effect on health should be considered in assessing the diet-disease relationship [6][7][8][9].…”

“…Data-driven DPs are identified using statistical methods, for example: cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), explanatory factor analysis (EFA) [5,7,9,11,13,15,17]. Data-driven DPs can combine healthy and less healthy foods (or dietary characteristics) [2,4,16,18]. Although data-driven DPs may not be as polarised as hypothesis-driven DPs, they can more accurately reflect real eating habits as combinations of food consumed in different groups of the population [10,16].…”