Nutrition and Socioeconomic status

Question 1

What 4 factors can socioeconomic status be broken down into?

Answer 1

physiological
psychological
social
lifestyle/environmental

Question 2

What are some social factors that can contribute to poor nutrition for those on low income?

Answer 2

personal preference and beliefs around healthy eating
disposable income available for food purchasing
high cost of healthy food vs. unhealthy foods
accessibility of grocery stores
facilities for storing fresh food v. convenience food e.g. pot noodle
cooking skill
level of education around healthy eating
school meal quality and vending machines
influence of others
influence of tv advertising
religion/ethnicity

Question 3

What diseases does poor nutrition contribute towards in those from low socioeconomic backgrounds?

Answer 3

CVD
obesity 
hypertension
stroke
low birth weight 
cancers

Question 4

What are the anthropometric measures of people from low economic status?

Answer 4

2% population underweight
62% of population overweight or obese
45% men and 42% women had elevated WHR

Question 5

in the UK, how is the nutritional status of the general population measured?

Answer 5

NDNS - National diet and Nutrition survey

LIDNS - low income DNS

Question 6

What is the aim of the LIDNS?

How was it conducted?

Answer 6

to provide evidence to underpin the development of food policy, to help to reduce health inequalities.

3,728 people from the bottom 15% of the population in terms of material deprivation (doorstep screening questionnaire was developed that helped measure material deprivation).

Question 7

Describe some key findings from the LIDNS survey:

Answer 7

• £28 spent on food per person/week
• 68% live in social housing - crowded accommodation
• cooking and storage facilities comparable to general population
• almost all were in receipt of at least one state benefit
• 55% no qualifications
• 55% reported long term illness
• low income less likely to eat wholemeal products and veg
• low income drink more full fat soft drinks
• low income eat more processed meats
• low income consume more sugar
• consumption of fast food/processed food decreased with age
• children more likely to eat crappy foods than adults
• fruit and veg intake roughly 2.5 per day adults and 1.5-2 for children
• adults living with children ate more fruit and veg than adults with no children
• low income eat less fruit and veg than general population

Question 8

LIDNS and nutrient intake:

Answer 8

mean energy intake increased with age in children but decreased with age in adults

Mean daily intakes of vitamins and minerals were above/close to the RNI in the different sex/age groups in both LIDNS and NDNS

Question 9

Social, economic and environmental factor findings:

Answer 9

• most of the ppts in the LIDNS (80%) shopped mainly at large supermarkets.
• only 50% of the ppts had access to a car for shopping
• 53% of low income school children received a free school meal
• Adults with lower levels of educational achievement had lower intakes of some nutrients compared with those with qualifications
• influences most commonly cited as affecting food choice were price/value/money available for food, and quality or freshness of the food.

Question 10

Overall conclusions of the LIDNS:

Answer 10

Average consumption of F&V was only half the recommended daily amount

intakes of non-milk sugars and saturated fatty acids were above UK recommended levels

intakes of non-starch polysaccharides were below UK recommendations

evidence of inadequate nutritional status for iron, folate and vitamin D

substantial proportion of men and women were overweight/obese

poor diets of those from low income were accompanied by low physical activity, smoking, and drinking. these are known risk factors for chronic disease and may explain the increased risk of nutrition-related illnesses in low income households.