Vegetable and fruit consumption associated with anthropometric, dietary and lifestyle factors in Spain. EPIC Group of Spain. European Prospective Investigation into Cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the association of vegetable and fruit intake with several demographic, anthropometric, lifestyle and dietary factors.


METHODS
Cross-sectional analysis. Information on habitual diet was collected by means of the diet history method. Association of vegetable and fruit intakes with other factors was assessed separately by means of multiple lineal regression and the cumulative odds model.


METHODS
39622 healthy subjects aged 29-69 years from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort in Spain.


RESULTS
Fruit intake increased with age, education and physical activity and decreased with intake of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol; smoking and alcohol consumption were also negatively associated with fruit, with a very low consumption for current smokers and heavy drinkers. Vegetable intake increased with education and physical activity and with intake of unsaturated fatty acids, mainly monounsaturated. Former smokers consumed more vegetables than never or current smokers and non-consumers of alcohol ate less vegetables than consumers, among whom no differences were observed. All these estimates were adjusted by energy and body mass index (BMI).


CONCLUSIONS
When assessing the association of fruit and vegetables with chronic diseases it is important to take into account confounding factors. Furthermore, it would be useful to study dietary patterns including several interrelated factors.
Agudo
A
A
IREC (Institut de Recerca Epidemiològica i Clínica), Mataró, Barcelona, Spain. agudo@csm.scs.es
Pera
G
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000886:Anthropometry; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D013030:Spain; D014675:Vegetables