B988 - Analysis of changes in fruit and vegetable intake as children get older in a UK cohort study - 01/01/1900
Title: analyse the evolution of fruit and vegetable intake frequency of children from infancy to 15 years, segmenting by household socioeconomic status (SES) and parental attitudes.
Specific objective: the aim of the analysis is to explore trends in intake (amount and frequency) across children's ages in years to evaluate the possibility of tracking of food habits (specifically fruit and vegetable intake), and any trends in changes in intake along the child's lifecycle (e.g. frequency of intake tends to drop/rise at the age of X). The idea is to construct different series of average intake by socioeconomic groups, and by mothers' attitudes to fruits and vegetables and eating in general. The analysis of segmentation by socioeconomic group and attitudinal variables will be helpful not only in illustrating any difference in starting points in fruit and vegetable intake when children are categorised according to these variables, but also any persistence and/or broadening of inequality as children grow older.
Broader objective: secondary data analysis of trends in children's fruit and vegetable intake by socioeconomic grades and mothers' attitudes as part of the research agenda for a PhD project on Consumer Behaviour and Associated Change Drivers and Barriers in the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables by Children.
Methods: graph plotting average and median intake (y axis) against age (x axis) for categories by SES (quintiles or tertiles of SES) and mothers' attitudinal characteristics. Statistical analyses (paired t tests and correlations) to test for tracking of food habits (Skinner et al. 2002).