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Impact of educational attainment on the quality of young women's diets

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 58, pages 1174–1180 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective: New findings, that relate poor foetal growth to long-term outcomes, highlight the need to understand more about the nature of women's diets before and during pregnancy. This study examines the influence of sociodemographic and anthropometric factors on the quality of the diets of young women in the UK.

Design: Diet was assessed by an interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire. A single diet score was calculated for each woman using the first component defined by principal components analysis.

Setting: Southampton, UK.

Subjects: A total of 6125 non pregnant women aged 20–34 y.

Results: The diets of women with low diet scores were characterised by low intakes of fruit and vegetables, wholemeal bread, rice and pasta, yogurt, and breakfast cereals, but high intakes of chips and roast potatoes, sugar, white bread, red, and processed meat and full-fat dairy products. Educational attainment was the most important factor related to the diet score. In all, 55% (95% CI 50–59%) of women with no educational qualifications had scores in the lowest quarter of the distribution, compared with only 3% (95% CI 2–4%) of those who had a degree. Smoking, watching television, lack of strenuous exercise, and living with children were also associated with lower diet scores. After taking these factors into account, no other factor including social class, the deprivation score of the neighbourhood, or receipt of benefits added more than 1% to the variance in the diet score.

Conclusions: Poor achievement at school defines a substantial group of women in the UK who may be vulnerable. Many of these women have poor diets that are not simply a result of the level of deprivation in their neighbourhood, or of living at a level of poverty that entitles them to benefits. We suggest that it is a priority to identify and to address the barriers that prevent these women from improving the quality of their diets.

Sponsorship: The study was funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust, the University of Southampton and the Medical Research Council.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to all the General Practitioners in Southampton who made this study possible, to the Southampton Women's Survey staff, and particularly to the women of Southampton for taking part.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK

    S M Robinson, S R Crozier, S E Borland, J Hammond, D J P Barker & H M Inskip

Authors
  1. S M Robinson
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  2. S R Crozier
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  3. S E Borland
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  4. J Hammond
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  5. D J P Barker
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  6. H M Inskip
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Contributions

Guarantor: SM Robinson.

Contributors: SMR and SEB designed the food frequency questionnaire, SEB and JH were responsible for data collection, SRC was responsible for the statistical analysis, and HMI coordinated all aspects of the survey. DJPB was responsible for the establishment and the design of the Southampton Women's Survey. All authors contributed to the analysis and interpretation of the data, and the preparation of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to S M Robinson.

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Robinson, S., Crozier, S., Borland, S. et al. Impact of educational attainment on the quality of young women's diets. Eur J Clin Nutr 58, 1174–1180 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601946

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