[Dietary patterns of Roma population and total population in Spain]

Abstract

Objective: The NAOS (Nutrición, Actividad Física y Prevención de la Obesidad) strategy implemented by Spanish Ministry of Health proposes a range of healthy dietary guidelines. The objective of this article is to analyze the degree these nutritional patterns are monitored by the Roma population, compared to the rest of the population, compared to the total Spanish population.

Methods: Data from the 2012 National Health Survey and the 2014 Roma Health Survey were compared. Sex, age and socio-occupational scale were used as independent variables, applying a logistic regression analysis to assess their degree of influence.

Results: There was less monitoring carried out by the Roma population of the dietary plans recommended by the Ministry of Health and differences of more of 20 percentage points were found in some of them. In both populations, age was the variable with the greatest influence, but even more so in the Roma population, while sex did not show statistical among Roma people. The follow-up data of these dietary patterns in the Roma population were lower in comparison with any of the socio-occupational groups of the rest of the population.

Conclusions: The Roma population is in a situation of inequality as regards the levels of adherence of the healthy dietary guidelines proposed by the Spanish NAOS strategy. The distance from these healthy eating habits is even greater among the younger Roma population.

Keywords: Alimentación; Desigualdades alimentarias; Determinantes sociales de la salud; Diet; Encuestas de salud; Food inequalities; Health surveys; Healthy eating habits; Hábitos alimenticios saludables; Población gitana; Roma population; Social determinants of health.