Socio-economic status versus dietary habits in women living in northeastern Iran

There is little information about the relationship between socioeconomic factors and dietary habits. This study examined the link between socioeconomic factors and dietary habits in a group of women living in northern Iran. The subjects were 2104 mothers in Golestan province. They were selected using a two-stage cluster random sampling method. Socioeconomic characteristics were evaluated based on scoring of indices for occupation and education of husband, occupation and education of subject, family size, and access to welfare facilities. Dietary habits were examined using a questionnaire. Healthy and unhealthy dietary habits for each question were scored as 1 and -1, respectively, and the total score was calculated for all dietary habits. Subjects with higher socioeconomic status had higher dietary habit scores than those with lower socioeconomic status (3.8 ± 1.5 vs. 3.0 ± 1.8). After adjustment for all confounding factors, subjects in the highest socioeconomic category were more likely to have healthy dietary habits. There was a significant increasing trend toward healthy dietary habits with the increase in socioeconomic status (1.00, 1.73, 1.69, p < 0.05). The findings indicate a direct significant relationship between socioeconomic status and dietary habits. Further studies are required in different parts of the country to clarify the association between socioeconomic status and dietary habits.