ResearchCurrent ResearchLower-Energy-Density Diets Are Associated with Higher Monetary Costs per Kilocalorie and Are Consumed by Women of Higher Socioeconomic Status
Section snippets
Participants
The study was based on a stratified sample of faculty and staff of a large public university in the Pacific Northwest. The sampling frame was stratified by ranges of university salaries, obtained from the publicly available payroll system. There were 20 salary strata, with means ranging from $1,408 per month to $13,924 per month, with participant recruitment based on random sampling within each strata. Whereas salary data were used for targeting recruitment letters, the key income variable in
Study Participants
More than 3,000 introductory letters were sent to preselected respondents via campus mail. Of these, 350 persons responded by mail or by telephone and, depending on work schedules and other commitments, 259 were invited to attend an introductory orientation meeting and provide consent. Persons who never began study protocols; those who dropped out in the course of the 5-week study; those who failed to complete all questionnaires, including FFQs and diet records, or who did not keep food
Discussion
Lower-energy-density diets were associated with higher nutrient intakes. In contrast, the more energy-dense diets contained more total fat and saturated fat but were lower in fiber and micronutrients. These findings that energy density and nutrient density of diets are inversely linked are entirely consistent with past data, based on much larger populations, and representative samples in the United States (10) and in France (34, 35).
Our analyses included an important and sometimes
Conclusions
The finding that higher-quality diets were consumed by women of higher SES and are more costly per 2,000 kcal has implications for epidemiologic studies of diet and chronic disease. Nutritional epidemiology has historically been based on the premise that nutrient exposures are directly linked to health outcomes. However, nutritional status is also intimately linked to SES (52) and the findings reported here raise the possibility that the higher monetary cost of nutritious diets may provide one
P. Monsivais is research analyst and investigator, Nutritional Sciences Program, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle
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P. Monsivais is research analyst and investigator, Nutritional Sciences Program, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle
A. Drewnowski is professor and director, Nutritional Sciences Program, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle
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