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. 2015 Sep 22;73(Suppl 3):207–230. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuv055

Table 3.

Foods with high factor loadings on dietary patterns by principal components analysis in adults in the ALSPAC, including women in pregnancy (F1), women at 4 years after the birth of the study child (F4), and men at 4 years after the birth of the study child (M4)

PCA pattern Foods with factor loadings >0.3a,b,c Person: timing (variance explained)a,b,c
Health-conscious

  • Positive: brown/wholemeal bread, whole grain breakfast cereals, fish, cheese, pulses, pasta, rice, salad, fresh fruit, fruit juice

  • F4 and M4: + yogurts

  • F4 only: + plain potatoes, cooked vegetables

  • M4 only: + water

  • Negative: white bread

  • M4 only: + meat pies, coated poultry, sausages, chips

  • F1: pregnancy (10.6%)

  • F4: 4 years later (9.0%)

  • M4: 4 years later (9.3%)
Traditional

  • Positive: all types of cooked vegetables and plain potatoes

  • M4 only: + poultry, red meat, roast potatoes

  • F1: pregnancy (8.2%)

  • M4: 4 years later (8.0%)
Processed

  • Positive: white bread, meat pies, sausages/burgers, fried foods, pizza, eggs, chips, roast potatoes, baked beans

  • F4 only: + coated chicken and fish, peas

  • Negative: brown/wholemeal bread

  • F1: pregnancy (4.9%)

  • F4: 4 years later (7.5%)
Confectionery Positive: biscuits, puddings, cakes/buns, sweets, chocolates, chocolate bars, crisps

  • F1: pregnancy (4.0%)

  • F4: 4 years later (4.8%)
Processed/confectionery Positive: biscuits, puddings, ice cream, cakes/buns, cold meats, coated poultry, meat pies, sausages, pizza, chips, baked beans, sweets, chocolates, crisps, fizzy drinks M4: 4 years later (4.6%)
Vegetarian

  • Positive: meat substitutes, pulses, nuts

  • F1 only: + herbal tea

  • F4 only: + vegetarian pies

  • Negative: poultry, red meat

  • F4 only: + cold meats

  • F1: pregnancy (3.6%)

  • F4: 4 years later (3.8%)
Semi-vegetarian Positive: pizza, fish, vegetarian pies, meat substitutes, pulses, nuts, baked beans M4: 4 years later (4.0%)

a F1: Pregnancy data from Northstone et al. (2007)10

b F4: Women at 4 years after the birth of the study child; data from Northstone et al. (2008)11

c M4: Men at 4 years after the birth of the study child; data from Northstone et al. (2010)12