Abstract
From a public health perspective, determinants of diets are crucial to identify, but they remain unclear in Switzerland. Hence, we sought to define current dietary patterns and their sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants using the national nutrition survey menuCH (2014–2015, n = 2057). First, we applied multiple factorial analysis and hierarchical clustering on the energy-standardised daily consumption of 17 food categories. Four dietary patterns were identified (“Swiss traditional”: high intakes of dairy products and chocolate, n = 744; “Western 1”: soft drinks and meat, n = 383; “Western 2”: alcohol, meat and starchy, n = 444; and “Prudent”: n = 486). Second, we used multinomial logistic regression to examine the determinants of the four dietary patterns: ten sociodemographic or lifestyle factors (sex, age, body mass index, language region, nationality, marital status, income, physical activity, smoking status, and being on a weight-loss diet) were significantly associated with the dietary patterns. Notably, belonging to the French- and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland increased the odds of following a “Prudent” diet (Odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.92 [1.45–2.53] and 1.68 [0.98–2.90], respectively) compared to the German-speaking regions. Our findings highlight the influence of sociodemographic and lifestyle parameters on diet and the particularities of the language regions of Switzerland. These results provide the basis for public health interventions targeted for population subgroups.
Highlights
Switzerland is a high-income country characterised by one of the highest life expectancies and one of the lowest prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in the world [1,2]
Applying MFA and hierarchical clustering on the data from the first national nutrition survey menuCH, we found 4 discrete dietary patterns in a sample of the population of Switzerland
The “Western 1” pattern was characterised by a high intake of red and processed meat and refined sugars, which translated into the highest absolute energy intake from carbohydrates (1019.1 kcal) of all clusters
Summary
Switzerland is a high-income country characterised by one of the highest life expectancies and one of the lowest prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in the world [1,2]. Significant variations, exist between sociodemographic subgroups in the risk of developing chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, gastric and liver cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke [2,3]. Diet is a major modifiable determinant of most chronic diseases, and dietary choices are known to be strongly influenced by sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants [6,7,8]. Nutrients 2019, 11, 62 determinants of dietary consumption is critical for testing whether they contribute to previously reported sociodemographic differences in disease prevalence. From a public health perspective, it would enable Swiss authorities to refine nutrition promotion campaign, further elaborate actions for the Swiss Nutrition Strategy 2017–2024 [9], and will assist in health resource allocation
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