Nutrients
Volume 11, Issue 4, 2019

Socioeconomic disparities in diet vary according to migration status among adolescents in Belgium (Article) (Open Access)

Rouche M.* , De Clercq B. , Lebacq T. , Dierckens M. , Moreau N. , Desbouys L. , Godin I. , Castetbon K.
  • a Research Center in Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Clinical Research School of Public Health, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, 1040, Belgium
  • b Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University (UGent), Ghent, 9000, Belgium
  • c Research Center in Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Clinical Research School of Public Health, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, 1040, Belgium, Service d’Information Promotion Education Santé (SIPES), School of Public Health Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, 1040, Belgium
  • d Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University (UGent), Ghent, 9000, Belgium
  • e Research Center in Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Clinical Research School of Public Health, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, 1040, Belgium, Service d’Information Promotion Education Santé (SIPES), School of Public Health Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, 1040, Belgium
  • f Research Center in Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Clinical Research School of Public Health, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, 1040, Belgium
  • g Research Centre in Social Approaches to Health, School of Public Health, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, 1040, Belgium
  • h Research Center in Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Clinical Research School of Public Health, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, 1040, Belgium, Service d’Information Promotion Education Santé (SIPES), School of Public Health Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, 1040, Belgium

Abstract

Little information concerning social disparities in adolescent dietary habits is currently available, especially regarding migration status. The aim of the present study was to estimate socioeconomic disparities in dietary habits of school adolescents from different migration backgrounds. In the 2014 cross-sectional “Health Behavior in School-Aged Children” survey in Belgium, food consumption was estimated using a self-administrated short food frequency questionnaire. In total, 19,172 school adolescents aged 10–19 years were included in analyses. Multilevel multiple binary and multinomial logistic regressions were performed, stratified by migration status (natives, 2nd- and 1st-generation immigrants). Overall, immigrants more frequently consumed both healthy and unhealthy foods. Indeed, 32.4% of 1st-generation immigrants, 26.5% of 2nd-generation immigrants, and 16.7% of natives consumed fish _two days a week. Compared to those having a high family affluence scale (FAS), adolescents with a low FAS were more likely to consume chips and fries _once a day (vs. <once a day: Natives aRRR = 1.39 (95%CI: 1.12–1.73); NS in immigrants). Immigrants at schools in Flanders were less likely than those in Brussels to consume sugar-sweetened beverages 2–6 days a week (vs. _once a week: Natives aRRR = 1.86 (95%CI: 1.32–2.62); 2nd-generation immigrants aRRR = 1.52 (1.11–2.09); NS in 1st-generation immigrants). The migration gradient observed here underlines a process of acculturation. Narrower socioeconomic disparities in immigrant dietary habits compared with natives suggest that such habits are primarily defined by culture of origin. Nutrition interventions should thus include cultural components of dietary habits. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Author Keywords

Food frequency questionnaire dietary habits Migration status Socioeconomic disparities Adolescents

Index Keywords

immigrant indigenous people health disparity Health Status Disparities human Health Behavior statistics and numerical data controlled study habit diet feeding behavior ethnology Brussels Capital Region food frequency questionnaire Cross-Sectional Studies Young Adult school child migrant cross-sectional study Humans Adolescent male Emigrants and Immigrants Acculturation Socioeconomic Factors female socioeconomics cultural factor Belgium Article nutrition major clinical study adult human experiment social class food intake Diet Surveys sugar-sweetened beverage Flanders Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85065491268&doi=10.3390%2fnu11040812&partnerID=40&md5=0ae30990f06a92fec7d98f7e20914781
DOI: 10.3390/nu11040812
ISSN: 20726643
Cited by: 2
Original Language: English