title: Fruit and vegetable consumption in the former Soviet Union: the role of individual- and community-level factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explain patterns of fruit and vegetable consumption in nine former Soviet Union countries by exploring the influence of a range of individual- and community-level determinants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional nationally representative surveys and area profiles were undertaken in 2010 in nine countries of the former Soviet Union as part of the Health in Times of Transition (HITT) study. Individual- and area-level determinants were analysed, taking into account potential confounding at the individual and area level.
  
  
  METHODS
  Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult survey respondents (n 17 998) aged 18-95 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Being male, increasing age, lack of education and lack of financial resources were associated with lower probability of consuming adequate amounts of fruit or vegetables. Daily fruit or vegetable consumption was positively correlated with the number of shops selling fruit and vegetables (for women) and with the number of convenience stores (for men). Billboard advertising of snacks and sweet drinks was negatively related to daily fruit or vegetable consumption, although the reverse was true for billboards advertising soft drinks. Men living near a fast-food outlet had a lower probability of fruit or vegetable consumption, while the opposite was true for the number of local food restaurants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall fruit and vegetable consumption in the former Soviet Union is inadequate, particularly among lower socio-economic groups. Both individual- and community-level factors play a role in explaining inadequate nutrition and thus provide potential entry points for policy interventions, while the nuanced influence of community factors informs the agenda for future research.
authors: 1Norwich Medical School,University of East Anglia,Norwich NR4 7TJ,UK.
authors: Yevgeniy
authors: Y
authors: Goryakin
authors: 3Department of Economics,University of Padua,Padua,Italy.
authors: Lorenzo
authors: L
authors: Rocco
authors: 2UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR),Cambridge,UK.
authors: Marc
authors: M
authors: Suhrcke
authors: 5European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition,Department of Health Services Research and Policy,London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,London,UK.
authors: Bayard
authors: B
authors: Roberts
authors: 5European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition,Department of Health Services Research and Policy,London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,London,UK.
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: McKee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003132:Commerce; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012147:Restaurants; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014586:USSR; D014675:Vegetables; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Fruit and vegetable consumption; Nutrition; Socio-economic determinants