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How do socio‐economic status (SES), perceived economic barriers and nutritional benefits affect quality of dietary intake among US adults?
Author(s) -
Beydoun May A,
Wang Youfa
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.6.a1063-c
Subject(s) - mediation , affect (linguistics) , ethnic group , socioeconomic status , environmental health , medicine , demography , gerontology , psychology , population , communication , sociology , political science , anthropology , law
We examined independent effects of SES, perceived barriers of food price (PBFP) and benefits of diet quality (PBDQ) on diet quality indicators and indices (DQI), across gender and ethnicity using nationally representative data from the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) and Diet and Health Knowledge Survey (DHKS) 1994–96 for 4,356 individuals aged 20–65 y. Diet was assessed using two 24‐hour recalls. By principal components method, SES was constructed with household income per capita and education; and PBDQ, using an 11‐item scale. PBFP is the ratio of importance of food price score relative to nutrition. Several DQI indicators and indices were considered. PBDQ z ‐score improved diet quality (β= −31 for energy, −0.34 for fat (% of energy), and 0.37 for fiber p<0.05). SES z ‐score among Whites, unlike African‐Americans, reduced fat intake by β= −0.71 (p<0.05) and saturated fat by β= −0.43 (p<0.05) with a significant SES×ethnicity interaction. SES positively associated with fiber intake and was significantly stronger among women (β=0.95 vs. 0.72, p<0.05). Structural equation models revealed significant mediation of SES effects on diet quality through PBFP but not through PBDQ (mediation proportion>10%) for energy, total fat, sodium and sugar intakes. In conclusion, the effect of SES on diet quality varied by ethnicity and gender, and there was mediation of the effect of SES on diet quality by PBFP.