title: Association between educational level and vegetable use in nine European countries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The relationship of socio-economic status and vegetable consumption is examined in nine European countries. The aim is to analyse whether the pattern of socio-economic variation with regard to vegetable consumption is similar in all studied countries with high v. low vegetable availability and affordability, and whether education has an independent effect on vegetable consumption once the effects of other socio-economic factors have been taken into account.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data for the study were obtained from national surveys conducted in Finland, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, France, Italy and Spain, in 1998 or later. These surveys included data on the frequency of use of vegetables. Food Balance Sheets indicated that the availability of vegetables was best in the Mediterranean countries. The prices of vegetables were lowest in the Mediterranean countries and Germany.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Educational level was positively associated with vegetable consumption in the Nordic and Baltic countries. In the Mediterranean countries, education was not directly associated with the use of vegetables but, after adjusting for place of residence and occupation, it was found that those with a lower educational level consumed vegetables slightly more often. Manual workers consumed vegetables less often than non-manual workers, but otherwise there was no systematic association with occupation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Mediterranean countries did not show a positive association between educational level and vegetable consumption. The positive association found in the Northern European countries is linked to the lower availability and affordability of vegetables there and their everyday cooking habits with no long-standing cultural tradition of using vegetables.
authors.affiliation: National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. ritva.prattala@thl.fi
authors.forename: Ritva
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prättälä
authors.forename: Samu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hakala
authors.forename: Albert-Jan R
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Roskam
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Helmert
authors.forename: Jurate
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klumbiene
authors.forename: Herman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van Oyen
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Regidor
authors.forename: Anton E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Kunst
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004032:Diet / Q000592:standards*; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004522:Educational Status; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014675:Vegetables; D055815:Young Adult