Associations between socio-economic status and school-day dietary intake in a sample of grade 5–8 students in Vancouver, Canada

Bibliographic Data

ID15094403
AuthorsNaseam Ahmadi (University of British Columbia), J L Black (0000-0003-2048-5968, University of British Columbia, corresponding author), Cayley E Velazquez (University of British Columbia), Gwen E Chapman (0000-0002-9679-2457, University of British Columbia), Gerry Veenstra (0000-0001-6917-3784, University of British Columbia)
Year2015
Volume18
Issue5
Pages764-773
Publication date2015-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Health Nutrition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1368-9800 • E-ISSN: 1475-2727
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1368980014001499
PMID25098190
OpenAlexW2111428730
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited40

Objective To examine associations between students’ socio-economic status (SES) and school-day dietary intake, and the roles of parents and peers in shaping these associations. Design A cross-sectional survey measured school-day intake of vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, packaged snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages. Logistic regression models examined associations between SES (parental education and food insecurity status) and dietary outcomes during or en route to or from school, and examined whether peer modelling or parental norms potentially mediated the associations between SES and dietary outcomes. Setting Twenty-six public schools in Vancouver, Canada in 2012. Subjects Nine hundred and fifty students in grades 5–8. Results Students whose parents completed some college, compared with those completing high school or less, were significantly more likely to consume vegetables daily (unadjusted OR=1·85; 95 % CI 1·06, 3·22) and students whose parents completed college or university were significantly less likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages daily (unadjusted OR=0·67; 95 % CI 0·47, 0·94). Food secure students were also significantly less likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages daily compared with food insecure students (unadjusted OR=0·52; 95 % CI 0·29, 0·92). Parental norms, but not peer modelling, emerged as a potential mediator of the association between SES and vegetable intake. SES was not significantly associated with the remaining dietary outcomes. Conclusions Higher SES was significantly associated with two of five school-day dietary outcomes and predicted higher likelihood of daily nutritious food choices at school. The present study suggests that there is room for improvement in school-day dietary quality for students from all SES backgrounds in Vancouver

Added sugar · Agriculture · Environmental health · Food guide · Food insecurity · Food security · Geography · Logistic regression · Obesity · Population · Socioeconomic status · Demography · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Medicine · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access