Table 2.

Factor loading matrix for the major factors identified by using food consumption data from NHANES III^a

	‘Prudent’ pattern	‘Western’ pattern	‘Traditional’ pattern	‘Fish and alcohol’ pattern
Dairy	0.01	0.03	0.06	−0.11
Red meat	−0.21	0.41	0.36	0.14
Poultry	0.21	−0.20	−0.09	0.26
Processed meat	0.04	0.03	0.02	0.03
Fish	0.21	−0.26	0.11	0.45
Eggs	0.21	0.29	0.06	−0.18
Vegetables	0.43	−0.30	−0.02	0.07
Fruit	0.33	−0.34	0.21	−0.12
Legumes	0.25	−0.22	0.53	−0.01
Potatoes	0.33	0.22	0.39	0.02
Nuts and seeds	0.24	0.12	0.28	−0.15
Cereal	0.21	−0.15	−0.25	−0.43
Bread	0.35	0.17	0.30	−0.22
Sweets and pastries	0.14	0.46	0.11	0.19
Caffeinated beverages	0.02	0.06	−0.01	−0.06
Soda	−0.21	0.09	0.16	0.28
Alcohol beverages	0.05	0.15	0.18	0.42
Oils	0.27	0.37	0.21	−0.03

^aBolded numbers correspond to absolute values > 0.30 and are considered significant contributors to the pattern

‘Starch’ pattern explained 12% of the variance; the ‘refined sugars & high protein’ pattern explained 8%; the ‘traditional’ pattern 7%; and the ‘fish and alcohol’ pattern explained 6% of the variance