Table 1.
Food consumption and mental health indicators by country and gender
| DE | PL | BG | ||||
| Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | |
| N = 394 | N = 302 | N = 351 | N = 138 | N = 449 | N = 205 | |
| Food Groupa | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) |
| Sweets | 3.3 (1.0) | 3.0 (1.0) | 3.1 (0.9) | 3.1 (0.8) | 3.6 (0.9) | 3.4 (0.9) |
| Cakes/cookies | 2.3 (0.6) | 2.2 (0.6) | 2.8 (0.8) | 2.7 (0.8) | 3.1 (0.9) | 3.0 (0.9) |
| Snacks | 2.1 (0.7) | 2.3 (0.7) | 2.1 (0.8) | 2.2 (0.9) | 2.8 (0.9) | 2.7 (0.8) |
| Fast food | 2.2 (0.6) | 2.4 (0.6) | 1.8 (0.7) | 2.0 (0.8) | 3.1 (1.0) | 3.5 (0.9) |
| Fresh fruits | 3.5 (0.9) | 3.2 (0.9) | 3.3 (0.9) | 3.0 (0.9) | 3.6 (0.9) | 3.3 (0.8) |
| Salad | 3.3 (0.8) | 3.1 (0.8) | 3.1 (0.8) | 3.0 (0.8) | 3.7 (0.9) | 3.4 (0.8) |
| Cooked vegetables | 3.1 (0.8) | 3.0 (0.8) | 2.7 (0.9) | 2.6 (0.9) | 3.0 (0.9) | 3.1 (0.9) |
| Soft drinks | 2.5 (1.1) | 2.9 (1.0) | 2.9 (1.1) | 3.1 (0.9) | 2.9 (1.2) | 3.3 (1.1) |
| Meat | 3.0 (1.0) | 3.6 (0.9) | 3.3 (0.9) | 3.6 (0.9) | 3.1 (1.0) | 3.7 (0.9) |
| Fish | 2.0 (0.7) | 2.2 (0.8) | 2.2 (0.7) | 2.3 (0.7) | 2.3 (0.7) | 2.5 (0.8) |
| Milk products | 3.9 (0.9) | 3.9 (0.9) | 3.3 (1.0) | 3.2 (1.0) | 3.8 (0.8) | 3.7 (0.9) |
| Cereal/cereal products | 3.9 (0.9) | 3.6 (1.1) | 3.6 (1.0) | 3.5 (1.1) | 3.5 (1.1) | 3.8 (1.1) |
| Mental Health Indicators | ||||||
| M-BDIb | 28.1 (15.6) | 25.2 (14.7) | 33.6 (17.4) | 27.6 (15.2) | 33.6 (15.4) | 29.9 (13.6) |
| PSSc | 25.2 (8.1) | 22.9 (8.0) | 29.3 (7.5) | 25.0 (6.9) | 26.5 (7.8) | 23.8 (7.3) |
a Mean of the consumption frequency scale from 1 = never to 5 = several times per day
b Mean Modified Beck Depression Index, higher scores indicate stronger depressive symptoms
c Mean Perceived Stress Scale by Cohen, higher scores indicate higher perceived stress