The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on September 18, 2009
The European Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckp137
Adolescents’ health-related dietary patterns by parental socio-economic position, The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT)
Sara Marie Nilsen1, Steinar Krokstad2, Turid Lingaas Holmen2 and Steinar Westin1
1 Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
2 HUNT Research Centre, Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Verdal, Norway
Correspondence: Sara M. Nilsen, Faculty of Medicine, NTNU, NO-7489 Trondheim, Norway, tel: +47 73597525, fax: +47 73597577, e-mail: sara.m.nilsen{at}ntnu.no
Received September 24, 2008 , accepted August 14, 2009
Background: Nutrition is among the important determinants of diseases, and the social patterning of early eating habits may offer keys to prevention. We studied associations between selected indicators of adolescents’ health-related dietary habits (daily intake of candy, soft drinks, fruit and vegetables) and parental socio-economic position (education, social class and income). Methods: The material consisted of participants in the adolescent part (Young-HUNT) of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study during the period 1995–97, 8817 girls and boys aged 13–19 years (89% of all students in junior high schools and high schools in a Norwegian county). Data on parental socio-economic position was available from the adult part of HUNT and Statistics Norway. Cross-sectional data analyses were performed using cross-tables and binary logistic regression. Results: Of the indicators of socio-economic position used, the parent's educational level, in particular the mother's education, showed the highest impact on adolescents’ health-related dietary habits. Girls with the least educated mothers had a prevalence odds ratio of 2.5 (1.8–3.3) for drinking soft drinks daily and 0.6 (0.5–0.8) for eating vegetables daily as compared to girls with the most educated mothers. The corresponding numbers for boys were 1.9 (1.5–2.4) and 0.6 (0.5–0.8). Parental social class also showed gradients in adolescents’ health-related dietary habits, but there was virtually no gradient by income. Conclusion: Higher levels of parental education, in particular the mother's education, are clearly associated with healthier dietary habits among adolescents. This social patterning should be recognized in public health interventions.
Keywords: adolescents, diet, health-related behaviour, parental socio-economic position, social inequalities.