Adherence to the Mediterranean diet in children: Is it associated with economic cost?

G Albuquerque; P Moreira; R Rosário; A Araújo; V H Teixeira; O Lopes; A Moreira; P Padrão

doi:10.1016/j.pbj.2017.01.009

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet in children: Is it associated with economic cost?

Porto Biomed J. 2017 Jul-Aug;2(4):115-119. doi: 10.1016/j.pbj.2017.01.009. Epub 2017 Mar 1.

Authors

G Albuquerque¹, P Moreira^{1

2

3}, R Rosário^{4

5}, A Araújo¹, V H Teixeira^{1

2}, O Lopes⁶, A Moreira^{7

8}, P Padrão^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
² Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
³ EPI Unit - Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
⁴ Education School, Child Study Centre, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
⁵ Nursing School, University of Minho Braga, Portugal.
⁶ Erdal Association, Guimarães, Portugal.
⁷ Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
⁸ Department of Immunoallergology, Hospital of São João, Porto, Portugal.

Abstract

Highlights: The average diet cost was 4.58€ (SD = 1.24) in 6-12 years-old children.Diet cost calculations were based on food prices information from 2011.Most children reported medium (69.1%) or high (4.6%) adherence to Mediterranean diet.Higher adherence to Mediterranean diet was associated with higher diet cost.

Objective: To assess how the diet cost is associated with socio-demographic factors and adherence to Mediterranean diet in children.

Methods: Data were obtained from a community-based survey of children selected from public elementary schools in Portugal. Of a total of 586 children attending these schools, 464 (6-12 years), were studied. Dietary intake was assessed by a 24 hour recall and the adherence to Mediterranean diet was evaluated through the KIDMED index. The cost of the diet was calculated based on the collection of food prices of a national leader supermarket, and expressed as Total Daily Cost (TDC) and Total Daily Cost-Adjusted for Energy (TDEC). Anthropometric measures were taken and socio-demographic data were gathered from a questionnaire filled by parents. Logistic regression was used to quantify the association between diet cost, socio-demographics and adherence to Mediterranean diet.

Results: The average TDC was 4.58€ (SD = 1.24). Most children (69.1%) reported medium adherence to Mediterranean diet, and 4.6% rated the higher score. TDC was higher for children with highest adherence to Mediterranean diet, compared to those with lowest adherence [TDC: OR = 5.70 (95% CI 1.53, 21.33), p for trend = 0.001; TDEC: OR = 2.83 (95% CI 0.89, 8.96, p for trend 0.018)]. No meaningful variation in the diet cost with age and parental education was observed.

Conclusion: Higher adherence to Mediterranean diet was associated with higher diet cost in children.

Keywords: Children; Diet cost; Mediterranean diet.