Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess vegetable consumption among Japanese adults and to examine its association with eating behaviors, by household income.
Methods: Data were analyzed for 3,269 Japanese participants (1,615 men, 1,618 women) aged 30-59 years, who responded to an internet-based cross-sectional survey in January 2014. Collected date were as follows: self-reported measures of eating behavior, health behaviors, socioeconomic status and demographic variables. The association between eating vegetables with eating behaviors was determined using binomial logistic regression analysis, with eating vegetables as the dependent variable and eating behaviors as independent variables. The analyses were stratified by household income into three categories. Model 1 was not adjusted. Model 2 was adjusted for sex, age classification, marital status, residence status and employment status. Model 3 was adjusted for sex, age classification, marital status, residence status, employment status and education.
Results: Vegetable consumption was more desirable in model 3 than in other models, and was significantly associated with desirable care for one's diet for health reasons (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.87, 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) 1.97-4.19), using the information on nutrition labels (AOR: 2.35, 95% CI: 1.69-3.26), and conversations over meals with family or friends (AOR: 4.25, 95% CI: 3.04-5.95) in the lowest household income category.
Conclusion: For all levels of household income, encouraging self-management and meal information exchange and use are more likely to promote desirable vegetable consumption.
