Household food expenditures and socioeconomic status in relation to dietary nutrient intake in Iranian families
Abstract
Purpose
Examining the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) and expenses spent on food preparation on nutritional intake has always been one of the critical concerns for policymakers. This study aims to investigate the association between household food expenditure as well as SES and dietary nutrient intake in Kermanshah, Iran.
Design/methodology/approach
In this cross-sectional study, households were randomly selected from different strict in Kermanshah, Iran. Data were collected with an SES questionnaire, a demographic data collection form, a weekly food purchase checklist and a food record. The authors performed the analysis of covariance to determine the relationship of dietary nutrient intake of study participants across quintile categories of SES and total food expenses per day.
Findings
Out of 125 households, 119 households including 401 people finished the study. A significant association was observed between higher SES and higher intake of vitamin B2 (p-value = 0.03). Moreover, the household members at the top level of total food expenses per day had significantly greater dietary nutrient intake of energy (p < 0.001), potassium (p < 0.001), magnesium (p < 0.001), calcium (p < 0.001), zinc (p < 0.001), vitamin B2 (p < 0.001), B6 (p < 0.001), B12 (p = 0.002) and vitamin C (p = 0.04).
Originality/value
In our study, higher dietary nutrient intake was observed in the household members at the highest level of total food expenses daily as well as SES. Therefore, governments and policymakers should pay basic attention to optimizing food costs and improving the economic status of people.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to all of the households who participated in this study. The Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences' financial assistance is gratefully acknowledged.
Funding: This research was supported by the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (grant number: 3009138).
Author contributions: A.S., M.J., A.B., S.R., M.S.G., F.S. and S.M.N. contributed to the design of the study. A.B. and F.S. analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. A.S. and S.M.N. extensively reviewed and edited the manuscript.
Ethics statement: The Ethics Committee of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences approved the study (IR.KUMS.REC.1398.1019). Informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Availability of data and materials: All data generated and analyzed during this study are included in the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Citation
Saber, A., Jabbari, M., Sadeghi, F., Gholami, M.S., Bagheri, A., Rezaei, S. and Nachvak, S.M. (2024), "Household food expenditures and socioeconomic status in relation to dietary nutrient intake in Iranian families", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-02-2024-0040
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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