Abstract
Objective We examined whether the role of maternal education in children's unhealthy snacking diet is moderated by other socio-economic indicators. Methods Participants were selected from the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development cohort, a large ongoing community-based birth cohort. Validated Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ) (n = 2782) were filled in by mothers of children aged 5.7±0.5yrs. Based on these FFQs, a snacking dietary pattern was derived using Principal Component Analysis. Socio-economic indicators were: maternal and paternal education (low, middle, high; based on the highest education completed) household finance (low, high; based on ability to save money) and neighbourhood SES (composite score including educational level, household income and employment status of residents per postal code). Cross-sectional multivariable linear regression analysis was used to assess the association and possible moderation of maternal education and other socio-economic indicators on the snacking pattern score. Analyses were adjusted for children's age, sex and ethnicity. Results Low maternal education (B 0.95, 95% CI 0.83;1.06), low paternal education (B 0.36, 95% CI 0.20;0.52), lower household finance (B 0.18, 95% CI 0.11;0.26) and neighbourhood SES (B -0.09, 95% CI -0.11;-0.06) were independently associated with higher snacking pattern scores (p<0.001). The association between maternal education and the snacking pattern score was somewhat moderated by household finance (p = 0.089) but remained strong. Children from middle-high educated mothers (B 0.44, 95% CI 0.35;0.52) had higher snacking pattern scores when household finance was low (B 0.49, 95% CI 0.33;0.65). Conclusions All socio-economic indicators were associated with increased risk of unhealthy dietary patterns in young children, with low maternal education conferring the highest risk. Yet, within the group of middle-high educated mothers, lower household finance was an extra risk factor for unhealthy dietary patterns. Intervention strategies should therefore focus on lower educated mothers and middle-high educated mothers with insufficient levels of household finance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e0240423 |
| Pages (from-to) | e0240423 |
| Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 13 Oct 2020 |
Funding
This work was supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) (V.R., grant number 023.002.105); The ABCD-study was supported by the Academic Medical Centre (AMC) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and the Public Health Service (GGD) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.