Abstract
Socioeconomic inequalities in eating habits have a profound impact on the health of adolescents. The aim of the present study was to evaluate socioeconomic disparities in the eating habits of Czech adolescents and to compare their change between 2002 and 2014. The data from the Czech Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study conducted in 2002 and 2014 was utilized. The Family Affluence Scale (FAS) was used to assess socioeconomic disparities. Higher odds of daily consumption of fruit (2002: OR = 1.67; 2014: OR = 1.70, p < 0.001) and vegetables (2002: OR = 1.54; 2014: OR = 1.48, p < 0.001) were associated with high FAS in both genders. Adolescents with higher FAS were less likely to consume sweets (2002: OR = 0.72, p < 0.05) and more likely to eat breakfast on weekdays (2014: OR = 1.19, p < 0.05). In 2002 and 2014, the data showed lower odds of daily consumption of soft drinks (Low: OR = 0.47; Medium: OR = 0.43; High: OR = 0.41, p < 0.001), fruit (Low: OR = 0.73; Medium: OR = 0.74, p < 0.001; High: OR = 0.75, p < 0.05), sweets (Low: OR = 0.71; Medium: OR = 0.79, p < 0.001) and breakfast on weekends (High: OR = 0.70, p < 0.05), and a higher likelihood of eating breakfast on weekdays (Low: OR = 1.26, p < 0.01; Medium: OR = 1.13, p < 0.05). These findings play an important role in future public measures to improve dietary habits and decrease social inequalities in youth.
Highlights
Socioeconomic inequalities in eating behaviors are linked to overweight and obesity and have a profound impact on health and well-being [1,2,3,4,5]
Public Health 2016, 13, 1034 family socioeconomic status (SES) [1,6]. These findings suggest a higher risk of developing overweight and obesity during childhood in low-income families [9,26], and there is a need to address the socioeconomic disparities by developing policies and programs that will improve the eating habits of children from these social groups
Substantial social inequalities were found in the regular consumption of sweets in 2002 and breakfast during weekdays in 2002 and 2014
Summary
Socioeconomic inequalities in eating behaviors are linked to overweight and obesity and have a profound impact on health and well-being [1,2,3,4,5]. Most recent studies representing data from countries with various levels of income have shown that children and adolescents from families with low socioeconomic status (SES) tend to have poorer diets [1,6,7,8], high levels of sedentary activity [8,9], higher likelihood of smoking cigarettes [8], higher odds of obesity [9,10,11,12] and an increased risk of morbidity and mortality [13]. Unhealthy diets consisting of sugar-rich and fatty foods among children are common in families with low parental education levels [1,14]. Sweet beverages, processed and energy-dense foods have been inversely associated with
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