The Effect of Socio-Economic Status on Food Quality in West of Iran

BackgroundSocio-economic status affects many health-related outcomes and one of the most important factors is the pattern and quality of nutrition. Thus, this study is carried out to investigate the effect of socio-economic status on the quality of nutrition based on healthy Eating Index (HEI).MethodsThis is a population-based study using the baseline data from Ravansar Non-Communicable Disease cohort study. HEI calculated from Food Frequency Questionnaire. The quality of nutrition was assessed based on HEI-2015 which evaluates 13 food groups.ResultsThe mean of age of the participants was 48.02 (SD = ±8.27) years. The median and mean of HEI in the studied population were 53 and 53.69 (SD = ±7.34), respectively. Women, the educated, city dwellers, people of higher socioeconomic classes, and non-smokers had greater odds of having higher quality of nutrition. The worst score among all components of HEI were for the refined grains and then the whole grain, and the highest score was obtained for the tatal protein foods. ConclusionsDue to low nutritional quality and its adverse effects, especially in people with low socioeconomic status and villagers, the quality of nutrition, especially in the poor, should be promoted with proper interventions so as to reduce disparity in the society.