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Socio-demographic inequalities in the diets of mid-aged Australian women

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 59, pages 185–195 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgements

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.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MRC Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge, UK

    G Mishra

  2. School of Health Sciences, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia

    K Ball

  3. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Kings College, London, UK

    A Patterson

  4. School of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia

    W Brown

  5. The Cancer Council of Victoria, Carlton, Victoria, Australia

    A Hodge

  6. School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia

    A Dobson

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  1. G Mishra
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  2. K Ball
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  3. A Patterson
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  4. W Brown
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  5. A Hodge
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  6. A Dobson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to G Mishra.

Additional information

Guarantor: G Mishra.

Contributors: GM conceptualised the project and conducted the statistical analysis. KB and GM prepared the first draft of the manuscript. All authors participated in interpreting the results and were involved in preparing the final draft of the manuscript.

Appendix A

Appendix A

Food items included in each group is described in Table A1

Table 7 Table a1
Full size table

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Mishra, G., Ball, K., Patterson, A. et al. Socio-demographic inequalities in the diets of mid-aged Australian women. Eur J Clin Nutr 59, 185–195 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602057

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