Identifying eating habits in Finnish children: a cross-sectional study

Rejane Augusta De Oliveira Figueiredo,Trine B Rounge,Elisabete Weiderpass,Jannina Viljakainen,Heli Viljakainen,Eva Roos

doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6603-x

Abstract

BackgroundWe aimed to identify different eating habits among Finnish children and to evaluate their association with meal patterns, breakfast consumption, and socio-demographic characteristics in a large, nationwide cohort of children.MethodsWe evaluated 10,569 children aged 9–14 years into the Finnish Health in Teens cohort in a cross-sectional design. The hierarchical K-means method was used to identify groups of children with different eating habits, based on five factors obtained through factor analysis of 10 food items. Multiple correspondence analysis was used to show associations between groups with different eating habits and meal patterns, breakfast patterns, gender, age, and language spoken at home.ResultsAnalyses identified three groups: unhealthy eaters (12.3%), fruit and vegetable avoiders (43.3%), and healthy eaters (44.1%). Most children had regular meal and breakfast patterns. The proportion of boys was higher among unhealthy eaters. Unhealthy eaters also showed irregular meal and breakfast patterns, and had parents with low education level. There was a higher proportion of girls among healthy eaters. Healthy eaters also showed regular meal and breakfast patterns, and had parents with high education level.ConclusionsAlthough the number of unhealthy eaters was small, special attention should be still paid to these, mostly male children, as they have poor eating habits and they lack regular eating routine. Skipping breakfast was more common among older children and girls, although girls had healthier eating habits overall. Our results can contribute to public health efforts to improve eating behaviours, especially among children with poor eating habits and those skipping healthy food items.

Highlights

We aimed to identify different eating habits among Finnish children and to evaluate their association with meal patterns, breakfast consumption, and socio-demographic characteristics in a large, nationwide cohort of children
Due to the pandemic of childhood obesity [3], the eating habits of children and adolescents are of particular importance, as unhealthy eating habits in childhood/adolescence can persist and cause adverse health outcomes in adulthood [4, 5]
In order to visualize different dietary behaviours among children, a multiple correspondence analysis was performed to evaluate the association between groups with different eating habits, meal patterns, breakfast patterns, gender, age, and language spoken at home

Summary

Introduction

We aimed to identify different eating habits among Finnish children and to evaluate their association with meal patterns, breakfast consumption, and socio-demographic characteristics in a large, nationwide cohort of children. A study carried out in 124 developed and developing countries showed an improvement in worldwide dietary quality from 1980 to 2009, with an increased availability of energy from vegetable oils, fruits, and vegetables, and a decreased availability of energy from sugar and animal fats [6]. Other studies have reported that young children commonly consume skimmed milk, low-fat cheese or cold-cuts, and Oliveira Figueiredo et al BMC Public Health (2019) 19:312 vegetable oil-based margarine on bread, but rarely fish [10, 11]. Similar results have been reported in young male conscripts in Finland [12], among whom daily consumption of fruits, berries, and vegetables was rare, and consumption of rye bread, dairy products, and sugar-sweetened soft drinks was favoured. The food consumption of these young men fulfilled less than half of the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations [12]

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