Social Demography of Transitional Dietary Patterns in Thailand: Prospective Evidence from the Thai Cohort Study

Abstract

In recent decades, a health-risk transition with changes in diet and lifestyle in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) led to an emergence of chronic diseases. These trends in Southeast Asian LMICs are not well studied. Here, we report on transitional dietary patterns and their socio-demographic predictors in Thai adults. Dietary data in 2015 were from a random sub-sample (N = 1075) of 42,785 Thai Cohort Study (TCS) members who completed all three TCS surveys (2005, 2009, 2013). Principle Component Analysis identified dietary patterns and multivariable linear regression assessed associations (Beta estimates (ß) and confidence intervals (CIs)) between socio-demographic factors and dietary intake pattern scores. Four dietary patterns emerged: Healthy Transitional, Fatty Western, Highly Processed, and Traditional. In women, higher income (≥30,001 Baht/month vs. ≤10,000) and managerial work (vs. office assistant) was associated with lower scores for Traditional (ß = −0.67, 95% CI −1.15, −0.19) and Fatty Western diets (ß = −0.60, 95% CI −1.14, −0.05), respectively. University education associated with lower Highly Processed (ß = −0.57, 95% CI −0.98, −0.17) and higher Traditional diet scores (ß = 0.42, 95% CI 0.03, 0.81). In men and women, urban residence associated with higher Fatty Western and lower Traditional diets. Local policy makers should promote healthy diets, particularly in urban residents, in men, and in low-SEP adults.

Functional dentition and changes in dietary patterns among older adults in Thailand

“…Our whole diet assessment, using factor analysis, identified three mutually exclusive (uncorrelated) DP that characterised participants' diet. These patterns were consistent with those reported in previous analysis of Thai nutrition surveys (27,28) . These similarities are noteworthy given the variations in the length of the FFQ (much shorter in previous studies) and the age of participants (middle-aged adults in previous studies) among studies.…”

“…They were assisted to estimate portion sizes using pictures of portion sizes and cooking measurements. The fifteen FFQ groups were further divided to create twenty-two food groups based on their similar nutrient profile, culinary use and previous studies in Thailand (27,28) . All food groups with their constituent food items are shown in the Appendix.…”

Dietary patterns and their associations with gestational weight gain in the United Arab Emirates: results from the MISC cohort

“…On the other hand, the "Western" pattern consisted of sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages, fast foods, and added sugars. A common finding to most studies investigating dietary patterns is the identification of a western pattern in addition to other 'ethnic/ traditional/or Prudent' patterns [32][33][34][35][36][37]. Though the foods constituting these patterns would vary from one study to the other, a few characteristic foods/food groups are repeatedly reported as defining each of these two patterns.…”

A practical solution to improve the nutritional balance of Korean dine-out menus using linear programming

“…The most relevant to the present study is the work by Asano (30) that focused on nutrient optimization in Korean meals. Asano studied the food intake patterns of Koreans and formed a healthy Korean diet based on the widely used formulation given by equation (1). As discussed in the 'Methods' section, our approach is distinct from previous studies because the goal here is not to improve an existing diet pattern but to analyse the nutritional deficiency of the most optimal choice.…”

“…Demographic changes are affecting our meal patterns such as when we eat, where we eat and who we eat with ( 1 , 2 ) . Even though a healthy diet is an important aspect of a healthy life, maintaining a healthy diet is not an easy task in today’s society.…”