Socio-economic differences in the use of fresh vegetables in nine European countries
| Author | Affiliation |
|---|---|
Prättälä, Ritva | |
Background The study will compare socioeconomic differences in the use of fresh vegetables in countries representing Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Europe. The differences are assumed to be larger in countries where vegetables are poorly available. The specific questions are: 1. Are socioeconomic differences in the use of fresh vegetables similar in all the studied countries? 2. Do countries showing a high general level of vegetable availability demonstrate less consistent socioeconomic differences? Methods The data originated from nine national surveys indentified from the harmonized data base of the EUROTHINE-project. Vegetable consumption was measured as the frequency of use of fresh vegetables. The indenpendent variables were sex, age, place of residence, occupational status and educational level. Surveys conducted in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Spain in 1998 or later included all the relevant variables. The countries were classified into groups with low (DK, ES, FI, GE, LT, LI, SLO) and high (IT, SPA) availability of vegetables on the basis of FAO Food Balance Sheets. Results In Slovakia vegetable consumption did not vary by socioeconomic status. Educational level had a significant effect on the daily use of fresh vegetables in the Nordic and Baltic countries. In Germany the effect of education was attenuated when occupational status was taken into account. The effect of occupational status was weak and unsystematic. In Nordic and Baltic countries, people living in cities used fresh vegetables more often whereas in Germany no urban-rural variation was observed. In Spain and Italy the effect of educational level was weak. The effect was different for men and women and was attenuated when place of presidence and occupational status were taken into account. Conclusions The pattern of socioeconomic variation in the daily use of fresh vegetables was not similar in the studied countries. [...].