Socio-economic difference in purchases of ultra-processed foods in Australia: an analysis of a nationally representative household grocery purchasing panel

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

Research

Daisy H. Coyle¹  Liping Huang¹  Jason H. Y. Wu¹  Gian Luca Di Tanna¹  Maria Shahid¹  Matti Marklund¹  Allison Gaines²  Bruce Neal²  Jimmy Chun Yu Louie³  Xiongfei Pan⁴ 

[1] Faculty of Medicine, The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, 2042, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Faculty of Medicine, The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, 2042, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK;Faculty of Medicine, The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, 2042, Sydney, NSW, Australia;School of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong, 999077, Hong Kong, China;Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, China;

关键词: Ultra-processed food;    Socio-economic status;    Diet;    Nutrition;    Food supply;    Processing;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12966-022-01389-8

 received in 2022-08-22, accepted in 2022-11-25,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundConsumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with increased risk of obesity and non-communicable diseases. Little is known about current patterns of ultra-processed foods intake in Australia. The aim of this study was to examine the amount and type of ultra-processed foods purchased by Australian households in 2019 and determine whether purchases differed by socio-economic status (SES). We also assessed whether purchases of ultra-processed foods changed between 2015 and 2019. MethodsWe used grocery purchase data from a nationally representative consumer panel in Australia to assess packaged and unpackaged grocery purchases that were brought home between 2015 to 2019. Ultra-processed foods were identified according to the NOVA system, which classifies foods according to the nature, extent and purpose of industrial food processing. Purchases of ultra-processed foods were calculated per capita, using two outcomes: grams/day and percent of total energy. The top food categories contributing to purchases of ultra-processed foods in 2019 were identified, and differences in ultra-processed food purchases by SES (Index of Relative Social Advantage and Disadvantage) were assessed using survey-weighted linear regression. Changes in purchases of ultra-processed foods between 2015 to 2019 were examined overall and by SES using mixed linear models.ResultsIn 2019, the mean ± SD total grocery purchases made by Australian households was 881.1 ± 511.9 g/d per capita. Of this, 424.2 ± 319.0 g/d per capita was attributable to purchases of ultra-processed foods, which represented 56.4% of total energy purchased. The largest food categories contributing to total energy purchased included mass-produced, packaged breads (8.2% of total energy purchased), chocolate and sweets (5.7%), biscuits and crackers (5.7%) and ice-cream and edible ices (4.3%). In 2019, purchases of ultra-processed foods were significantly higher for the lowest SES households compared to all other SES quintiles (P < 0.001). There were no major changes in purchases of ultra-processed foods overall or by SES over the five-year period.ConclusionsBetween 2015 and 2019, ultra-processed foods have consistently made up the majority of groceries purchased by Australians, particularly for the lowest SES households. Policies that reduce ultra-processed food consumption may reduce diet-related health inequalities.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022

【 图 表 】

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