Variations in compliance with starchy food recommendations and consumption of types of starchy foods according to sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics

Nutritional recommendations call for balanced, diversified consumption of starchy foods and increased whole-grain food intake. Their efficiency may depend on sociodemoeraphic and socioeconomic factors, for which little information is available. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between sociodemoeraphic and socioeconomic characteristics and starchy food consumption in a large general population of French adults. Dietary intake was assessed using at least six 24-h dietary records collected, during a 2-year period, from 4574 men and women aged 45-60 years who participated in the Supplementation en VItamines Mineraux et AntioXydants cohort study in 1995-7. Compliance with the recommendation (>= 3 and <6 servings/d), non-consumption of whole-grain products, variety and daily cost were compared across sociodemoeraphic and socioeconomic categories using logistic regression and covariance analyses. About 55% of subjects complied with the starchy food recommendation, with little variation across sociodemographic characteristics. Consumption of whole-grain products was less likely in men (P=0.001), in subjects with a lower education level (P-trend= 0.01) and in those belonging to intermediate occupational categories (P=0.02). The variety of starchy food intake increased with education level (P-trend=0.0002) and was lowest for manual workers (P=0.03). The proportion of daily food cost spent on starchy foods decreased with occupational category (P<0.0001), and was higher in rural areas (P=0.0004). The starchy food budget spent on potatoes decreased with the educational level (P-trend=0.007), whereas it increased for rice and unsweetened breakfast cereals (P-trend=0.001 for both). Public recommendations concerning starchy food variety and whole-grain intake should specifically target subjects with a lower education level and/or occupational category.