title: Why don't poor men eat fruit? Socioeconomic differences in motivations for fruit consumption.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Those of lower socioeconomic status (SES) tend to have less healthy diets than those of higher SES. This study aimed to assess whether differences in motivations for particular foods might contribute to socioeconomic differences in consumption.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (n = 732) rated their frequency of consumption and explicit liking of fruit, cake and cheese. They reported eating motivations (e.g., health, hunger, price) and related attributes of the investigated foods (healthiness, expected satiety, value for money). Participants were randomly assigned to an implicit liking task (Single Category Implicit Association Task) for one food category. Analyses were conducted separately for different SES measures (income, education, occupational group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lower SES and male participants reported eating less fruit, but no SES differences were found for cheese or cake. Analyses therefore focused on fruit. In implicit liking analyses, results (for income and education) reflected patterning in consumption, with lower SES and male participants liking fruit less. In explicit liking analyses, no differences were found by SES. Higher SES participants (all indicators) were more likely to report health and weight control and less likely report price as motivators of food choices. For perceptions of fruit, no SES-based differences were found in healthiness whilst significant interactions (but not main effects) were found (for income and education) for expected satiety and value for money. Neither liking nor perceptions of fruit were found to mediate the relationship between SES and frequency of fruit consumption.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is evidence for social patterning in food motivation, but differences are modified by the choice of implicit or explicit measures. Further work should clarify the extent to which these motivations may be contributing to the social and gender patterning in diet.
authors.affiliation: Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SR, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pechey
authors.affiliation: Centre for Diet and Activity Research, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Box 285 Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Monsivais
authors.affiliation: Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SR, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Yin-Lam
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SR, United Kingdom. Electronic address: tm388@cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Theresa M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Marteau
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Consumption; Fruit; Liking; Motivation; Socioeconomic status