Changing Diet Quality in China during 2004-2011.

Yingying Huang,Hui Wang,Xu Tian

doi:10.3390/ijerph14010013

Abstract

Currently, under- and over-nutrition problems co-exist in China. However, systematic studies on the diet quality of Chinese residents have been scant. This study described the trend in diet quality of Chinese residents over a recent eight-year period and investigated the relevant influential factors. The data of Chinese adults aged 20–59 years was extracted from 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey. The China diet quality index (DQI) was employed to assess the diet quality of Chinese adults. The dietary consumption data of each individual was collected using a 24-h dietary recall and weighed food records implemented for three consecutive days. A mixed ordinary least squares regression model was applied to analyze the factors influencing the DQI scores of Chinese residents. Results showed that the diet quality of Chinese residents increased from 2004 to 2006, followed by a decrease in 2009 and 2011. The income, urbanicity index, and southern dummy were positively associated with DQI scores, whereas the size of household and labor intensity were negative predictors of DQI scores. The DQI scores also varied over BMI values. With an increase of the average income level in the future, the diet quality of Chinese residents is estimated to further improve. Moreover, urbanization could also contribute to reaching a more balanced diet.

Highlights

The nutrition transition has occurred among low–middle income countries, and scholars have begun shifting their research from under-nutrition to over-nutrition-related chronic disease, such as overweight and diabetes [1,2,3,4,5,6]
We found that higher diet quality index (DQI) score is positively associated with some variables such as income, education, age, Body Mass Index (BMI), and urbanization index, but negatively associated with other variables such as children ratio, and family size
We found that the total DQI score declined slightly from 2004 to 2011, indicating diverging from a balanced diet

Summary

Introduction

The nutrition transition has occurred among low–middle income countries, and scholars have begun shifting their research from under-nutrition to over-nutrition-related chronic disease, such as overweight and diabetes [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The most evident related change is that the diet structure of Chinese residents has gradually shifted from the traditional diet of consuming diverse staple foods and vegetables to a diet containing a high fat content [29,30]. This alternation in diet structure changes diet quality inevitably and consequentially [31]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion