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Consumption of whole-grain foods by British adults: findings from further analysis of two national dietary surveys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2006

Rebecca Lang ,
Christopher W Thane ,
Caroline Bolton-Smith  and
Susan A Jebb
Rebecca Lang*
Affiliation:
MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Fulbourn Road, Cambridge CB1 9NL, UK
Christopher W Thane
Affiliation:
MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Fulbourn Road, Cambridge CB1 9NL, UK
Caroline Bolton-Smith
Affiliation:
MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Fulbourn Road, Cambridge CB1 9NL, UK
Susan A Jebb
Affiliation:
MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Fulbourn Road, Cambridge CB1 9NL, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
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Abstract

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Objective:

To assess the consumption of whole-grain foods in different age and sociodemographic groups in Great Britain, using data from two national surveys.

Design:

Cross-sectional analysis of the consumption of whole-grain foods.

Setting:

The 1986–87 Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adults and the 1994–95 National Diet and Nutrition Survey of people aged 65 years and over.

Subjects:

In 1986–87, 2086 British adults aged 16–64 years; 1189 British adults aged 65 years and over in 1994–95.

Results:

In the 1986–87 survey population, consumption of whole-grain foods increased with age. Median consumption of whole-grain foods was 1 serving per week in 16–24-year-olds and 3 servings per week in the 35–64-year-olds (P <0.0001). In 1994–95, median consumption was 5 servings per week in adults aged 65 years and over. Overall, one-third of British adults ate no whole-grain foods on a daily basis, and less than 5% ate 3 or more servings per day. Manual occupation and smoking were consistently associated with a higher proportion of non-consumers and fewer servings per week of whole-grain foods, independent of age, sex, region and season (each P < 0.001). The main sources of whole-grain foods were wholemeal bread and breakfast cereals, which accounted for more than three-quarters of all servings.

Conclusions:

Consumption of whole-grain foods in the adult UK populations is more prevalent in the non-smoking, higher socio-economic groups. Amongst consumers of whole-grain foods, the frequency is similar to that reported in the USA and Norway.

Keywords

Whole-grain foodsGreat BritainAdultsElderly
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 6 , Issue 5 , August 2003 , pp. 479 - 484
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2003

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