Table 2.
Factor loadings and cumulative percentage of variation estimated from women at age 4 years based on 24-hour recall (n = 1,088)
| Mean daily consumption (g/day) SD, median | Factor loadinga | |
|---|---|---|
| Factor 1 (bread and fats) (6%)b | ||
| Breads | 121 (47), 140 | 0.74 |
| Fats, all type | 9 (5), 7 | 0.70 |
| Coffee/tea | 188 (201) | 0.33 |
| Soups | 9 (37) | −0.37 |
| Factor 2 (fried potatoes and fish) (11%)b | ||
| Fried potatoes, chips | 17 (45), 0 | 0.56 |
| Fish, all | 7 (23), 0 | 0.52 |
| Potato and vegetables product, cooked | 60 (42), 80 | −0.60 |
| Desserts, all | 95 (90), 100 | −0.32 |
| Factor 3 (milk, fruit, and biscuits) (16%)b | ||
| Whole milk | 311 (160), 300 | 0.52 |
| All fruit (except apples and pears) | 30 (46), 0 | 0.38 |
| Biscuits, all | 4 (8), 0 | 0.31 |
| Sweets, chocolates, sugars, preserves | 20 (19), 11 | −0.41 |
| Porridge | 10 (33), 0 | −0.44 |
| Coffee/tea | 188 (201), 220 | −0.52 |
aOnly absolute loading greater than 0.3 shown. All 34 food items were used in the calculation of factor scores
bCumulative percentage of variation: The total percentage variance in the consumption of all the food items explained by the index factor and all the previous factors, e.g., factors 1 and 2 explained 11% of the total variance in total food consumption