Socio-economic inequalities in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in Peru between 2014 and 2019

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and socioeconomic inequalities in adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables in Peru between 2014 and 2019. Design: Analytical cross-sectional study. The outcome variable was adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables, defined as the consumption of five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per-day (yes/no). We used concentration curves and Erreygers concentration index (ECI) to describe socioeconomic inequalities and a microeconometric approach to determine the contribution of each variable to inequality. Setting: Peru. Subjects: Data from Peruvians aged 15 years or older collected by the Demographic and Family Health Survey. Results: The prevalence of adequate fruit and vegetable consumption did not change between 2014 (10.7%; 95% CI: 10.0-11.4) and 2019 (11%; 95% CI: 10.4-11.7). We found socioeconomic inequalities in the adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables, with wealthier individuals having a higher prevalence of adequate consumption compared to poorer individuals in 2014 (19.2% vs. 3.5%) and 2019 (18.6% vs. 4.7%). The decomposition analysis found that education, urban areas and being wealthy were the main factors associated with socioeconomic inequality in adequate fruit and vegetable consumption, being structural problems of society. Conclusion: Despite the current regulations on healthy eating in Peru, adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables remains low, and there are socioeconomic inequalities between the poorest and wealthiest individuals. Our findings suggest that more efforts are needed to increase the intake and assess the disparities in adequate fruit and vegetable consumption.

Socioeconomic determinants and inequalities in exclusive breastfeeding among children in Peru

“…Finally, the Erreygers concentration index was decomposed based on a generalized linear model binomial distribution and identity link ( 36 ) and following the methodology described by O’Donnell et al ( 34 ) to quantify the contribution of the variables included to inequality in EBF. The concentration index decomposition reports elasticity, concentration, the contribution, and the percentage of contribution to the inequality for each independent variable ( 34 , 37 ). The elasticity denotes the change in the outcome of interest associated with a one-unit change in the independent variable.…”

“…The elasticity denotes the change in the outcome of interest associated with a one-unit change in the independent variable. The concentration index represents the concentration index of the independent variables with reference to the wealth index ( 34 , 37 ). The contribution and percentage contribution represents the absolute and relative contribution of each independent variable included in the model to the overall socioeconomic-related inequality in the outcome of interest.…”

“…The contribution and percentage contribution represents the absolute and relative contribution of each independent variable included in the model to the overall socioeconomic-related inequality in the outcome of interest. A positive or negative value in the contribution or percentage contribution results in an increase or decrease in the inequality ( 34 , 37 ).…”