TY - JOUR
T1 - Socio-demographic inequalities in the diets of mid-aged Australian women
AU - Mishra, Gita
AU - Ball, K.
AU - Patterson, A.
AU - Brown, W.
AU - Hodge, A.
AU - Dobson, A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, which was conceived and developed by groups of interdisciplinary researchers at the Universities of Newcastle and Queensland, is funded by the Australian Department of Health and Ageing. We thank all participants for their valuable contribution to this project. Kylie Ball is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council/National Heart Foundation Career Development Award. Part of the research for this paper was conducted while Kylie Ball was a visiting researcher at MRC-Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge University, UK. We thank the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, and the British Medical Research Council, for funding this research visit. We thank Professor Graham Giles of the Cancer Epidemiology Centre of The Cancer Council Victoria, for permission to use the Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies (Version 2). Melbourne: The Cancer Council Victoria, 1996.
PY - 2005/2
Y1 - 2005/2
N2 - Objectives: This study reports on the distributions of food and nutrient intakes by socio-demographic factors for a large population sample of mid-aged Australian women participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Design: This cross-sectional population-based study used the Cancer Council of Victoria food frequency questionnaires to derive estimates of food and nutrient intakes. Setting: Nationwide community-based survey. Subjects: A total of 10561 women aged 50-55 y, at the time of the survey in 2001. Results: Analysis showed favourable patterns of food intake, with frequent consumption of many foods that are promoted as components of a healthy diet (eg, fresh fruit, leafy green and other vegetables, bread, cereals, milk and meat). Intakes of both foods and nutrients varied significantly across socio-demographic groups, with unmarried women, and women in 'labouring' occupations (eg, cleaner, factory worker, kitchenhand) having poorer nutrient intake. Conclusions: Although many mid-aged women in this sample had generally healthful diets, women in certain socio-demographic groups (particularly unmarried women and those in labouring occupations) had nutrient intakes of concern. As well as helping to address the dearth of current data on dietary intakes in the Australian population, the results highlight the need for continued targeted public health strategies aimed at improving diet of women from the various socio-economic backgrounds.
AB - Objectives: This study reports on the distributions of food and nutrient intakes by socio-demographic factors for a large population sample of mid-aged Australian women participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Design: This cross-sectional population-based study used the Cancer Council of Victoria food frequency questionnaires to derive estimates of food and nutrient intakes. Setting: Nationwide community-based survey. Subjects: A total of 10561 women aged 50-55 y, at the time of the survey in 2001. Results: Analysis showed favourable patterns of food intake, with frequent consumption of many foods that are promoted as components of a healthy diet (eg, fresh fruit, leafy green and other vegetables, bread, cereals, milk and meat). Intakes of both foods and nutrients varied significantly across socio-demographic groups, with unmarried women, and women in 'labouring' occupations (eg, cleaner, factory worker, kitchenhand) having poorer nutrient intake. Conclusions: Although many mid-aged women in this sample had generally healthful diets, women in certain socio-demographic groups (particularly unmarried women and those in labouring occupations) had nutrient intakes of concern. As well as helping to address the dearth of current data on dietary intakes in the Australian population, the results highlight the need for continued targeted public health strategies aimed at improving diet of women from the various socio-economic backgrounds.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=13944275982&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602057
DO - 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602057
M3 - Article
C2 - 15483637
AN - SCOPUS:13944275982
SN - 0954-3007
VL - 59
SP - 185
EP - 195
JO - European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
JF - European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
IS - 2
ER -