Table 2.
Characteristics of the three dietary patterns found in Finnish pre-school children aged 3–6 years, DAGIS study, September 2015–April 2016
| Pattern 1: Sweets-and-treats | Pattern 2: Health-conscious | Pattern 3: Vegetables-and-processed meats | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet biscuits and cereal bars | 0·54 | 0·29 | 0·06 |
| Chocolate | 0·53 | 0·17 | −0·10 |
| Ice cream | 0·50 | 0·06 | −0·03 |
| Sweets | 0·47 | −0·10 | 0·06 |
| Soft drinks | 0·47 | −0·15 | 0·07 |
| Sugar-sweetened juice drinks | 0·42 | −0·09 | −0·03 |
| Sweet pastries | 0·38 | 0·18 | 0·03 |
| Crisps and popcorn | 0·37 | −0·11 | 0·13 |
| Sugar-sweetened breakfast cereals and muesli | 0·37 | −0·02 | −0·02 |
| Flavoured nuts, almonds and seeds | 0·35 | 0·26 | −0·17 |
| Plain nuts, almonds and seeds | −0·11 | 0·59 | 0·04 |
| Natural yoghurt and quark | −0·11 | 0·52 | 0·18 |
| Berries | −0·17 | 0·47 | 0·30 |
| Egg | 0·14 | 0·44 | 0·15 |
| Wholegrain porridge, non-sweetened breakfast cereals and muesli | −0·18 | 0·43 | −0·08 |
| Dried fruit and berries | 0·06 | 0·41 | −0·10 |
| Wholegrain rice and pasta | −0·16 | 0·40 | −0·09 |
| Peas, beans, lentils and soya | −0·06 | 0·33 | 0·04 |
| Cooked and canned vegetables | −0·04 | 0·32 | 0·30 |
| Commercial baby foods and smoothies | 0·05 | 0·31 | −0·02 |
| Fresh vegetables | −0·24 | 0·20 | 0·54 |
| Cold cuts | 0·10 | −0·09 | 0·51 |
| Fresh fruit | −0·15 | 0·28 | 0·40 |
| Flavoured yoghurt and quark | 0·14 | −0·19 | 0·40 |
| Wholemeal bread | 0·01 | −0·02 | 0·39 |
| High-fat cheese | 0·06 | −0·01 | 0·36 |
| Fruit juice | 0·02 | 0·18 | 0·36 |
| Sausages, frankfurters and luncheon meats | 0·31 | −0·12 | 0·33 |
| Eigenvalue | 3·2 | 2·8 | 1·8 |
| % of total variance explained | 6·8 | 6·1 | 3·8 |
Altogether nineteen foods (skimmed milk; berry, fruit and chocolate porridge; reduced-sugar juices and soft drinks; puddings; white bread; 1 % fat and semi-skimmed milk; flavoured or sweetened milk- or plant-based drinks; low-fat cheese; jams, marmalades and sweetened spreads; added sugar, honey and syrup; fish; berry and fruit fools and thickened soups; rye bread, crispbread and thin rye crackers; whole milk; white rice and pasta; white meat; canned and frozen fruit; potato; red meat) did not load with an absolute value of 0·3 or more to any of the three patterns identified and are not shown in the table. Loadings with an absolute value of 0·3 or more are shown in bold.