Novel Nutrition Profiling of New Zealanders’ Varied Eating Patterns

Date
2017-12-31
Authors
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
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Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI AG
Abstract

There is increasing recognition that the relationship between nutrition and health is influenced by complex eating behaviors. The aims of this study were to develop novel nutrition profiles of New Zealanders and to describe the prevalence of these profiles. Observational, cross-sectional data from the Sovereign Wellbeing Index, 2014 was used to develop the profiles in an a-priori process. Descriptive prevalence for the total data (N = 10,012; 4797 males; 18+ years) and profiles were reported. Nutrition question responses were presented as: Includers (consumed few time a week or more), Avoiders (few time a month) and Limiters (not eaten). Fruit or non-starchy vegetables were Included (fruit: 83.4%, 95% confidence interval (CI: 82.7, 84.1); vegetables: 82.6% (81.8, 83.4)) by the majority of the sample. Also Included were confectionary (48.6% 95% CI (47.6, 49.6)) and full sugar drinks (34.3% (33.4, 35.2)). The derived nutrition profiles were: Junk Food (22.4% 95% CI (21.6, 23.3)), Moderator (43.0% (42.1, 44.0)), High-Carbohydrate (23.0% (22.2, 23.8)), Mediterranean (11.1% (10.5, 11.8)), Flexitarian (8.8% (8.2, 9.4)), and Low-Carbohydrate (5.4% (4.9, 5.8)). This study suggests that New Zealanders follow a number of different healthful eating patterns. Future work should consider how these alternate eating patterns impact on public health.

Description
Keywords
Nutrition , Eating patterns , Profiles , Observational study , New Zealand
Source
Nutrients, 10(1), 30.
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).