TABLE 1.
Characteristics of the analytical sample by total meat intake frequency1
| Total meat intake frequency | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | Analytical sample (n = 403,886) | <3 times/wk (n = 49,330) | 3 to <5 times/wk (n = 103,599) | 5 to <7 times/wk (n = 133,549) | ≥7 times/wk (n = 117,408) |
| Sex | |||||
| Women | 213,511 (52.9) | 33,362 (67.6) | 61,751 (59.6) | 71,196 (53.3) | 47,202 (40.2) |
| Men | 190,375 (47.1) | 15,968 (32.4) | 41,848 (40.4) | 62,353 (46.7) | 70,206 (59.8) |
| Age, y | 56.7 ± 8.1 | 55.9 ± 8.1 | 57.6 ± 7.9 | 56.9 ± 8.0 | 56.1 ± 8.2 |
| Ethnicity | |||||
| White | 385,694 (95.5) | 44,986 (91.2) | 99,617 (96.2) | 129,136 (96.7) | 111,955 (95.4) |
| Nonwhite | 18,192 (4.5) | 4344 (8.8) | 3982 (3.8) | 4413 (3.3) | 5453 (4.6) |
| Townsend deprivation | |||||
| Most affluent | 84,218 (20.9) | 8291 (16.8) | 22,101 (21.3) | 29,413 (22.0) | 24,413 (20.8) |
| Most deprived | 74,431 (18.4) | 11,445 (23.2) | 18,123 (17.5) | 22,390 (16.8) | 22,473 (19.1) |
| Qualification | |||||
| College or university degree/vocational qualification | 247,738 (61.3) | 32,989 (66.9) | 62,517 (60.3) | 80,382 (60.2) | 71,850 (61.2) |
| National examination at ages 17–18 y | 22,617 (5.6) | 2727 (5.5) | 5519 (5.3) | 7540 (5.6) | 6831 (5.8) |
| National examination at age 16 y | 67,283 (16.7) | 6,895 (14.0) | 17,266 (16.7) | 23,433 (17.5) | 19,689 (16.8) |
| Other/unknown | 66,248 (16.4) | 6719 (13.6) | 18,297 (17.7) | 22,194 (16.6) | 19,038 (16.2) |
| Employment | |||||
| In paid employment | 233,897 (57.9) | 30,486 (61.8) | 56,895 (54.9) | 76,288 (57.1) | 70,228 (59.8) |
| Retired | 127,058 (31.5) | 13,116 (26.6) | 36,183 (34.9) | 43,632 (32.7) | 34,127 (29.1) |
| Not in paid employment | 42,931 (10.6) | 5728 (11.6) | 10,521 (10.2) | 13,629 (10.2) | 13,053 (11.1) |
| Smoking | |||||
| None | 221,188 (54.8) | 28,493 (57.8) | 57,738 (55.7) | 73,557 (55.1) | 61,400 (52.3) |
| Former | 142,320 (35.2) | 16,556 (33.6) | 36,386 (35.1) | 47,479 (35.6) | 41,899 (35.7) |
| Current <15 cigarettes/d | 11,593 (2.9) | 1462 (3.0) | 2887 (2.8) | 3640 (2.7) | 3604 (3.1) |
| Current ≥15 cigarettes/d | 15,532 (3.8) | 1306 (2.6) | 3344 (3.2) | 4760 (3.6) | 6122 (5.2) |
| Current, unknown amount | 13,253 (3.3) | 1513 (3.1) | 3244 (3.1) | 4113 (3.1) | 4383 (3.7) |
| Physical activity level, MET h/wk | |||||
| <5 | 50,223 (12.4) | 5485 (11.1) | 12,829 (12.4) | 16,706 (12.5) | 15,203 (12.9) |
| ≥100 | 40,603 (10.1) | 4904 (9.9) | 9825 (9.5) | 12,859 (9.6) | 13,015 (11.1) |
| Alcohol intake | |||||
| <1 g/d | 43,135 (10.7) | 7166 (14.5) | 11,788 (11.4) | 13,745 (10.3) | 10,436 (8.9) |
| ≥25 g/d | 81,306 (20.1) | 5471 (11.1) | 16,450 (15.9) | 26,532 (19.9) | 32,853 (28.0) |
| Non-drinkers | 29,758 (7.4) | 6524 (13.2) | 7842 (7.6) | 8122 (6.1) | 7270 (6.2) |
| Fruit and vegetable intake, servings2/d | 4.7 ± 2.6 | 5.4 ± 3.0 | 4.7 ± 2.5 | 4.6 ± 2.4 | 4.5 ± 2.5 |
| Estimated cereal fiber intake, g/d | 4.6 ± 2.9 | 4.7 ± 3.1 | 4.6 ± 2.9 | 4.6 ± 2.9 | 4.5 ± 3.0 |
| Fish intake, times/wk | |||||
| 0–1 | 101,960 (25.2) | 18,485 (37.5) | 23,676 (22.9) | 30,026 (22.5) | 29,773 (25.4) |
| <2 | 88,992 (22.0) | 7115 (14.4) | 23,952 (23.1) | 30,890 (23.1) | 27,035 (23.0) |
| <3 | 96,942 (24.0) | 7950 (16.1) | 27,020 (26.1) | 34,284 (25.7) | 27,688 (23.6) |
| ≥3 | 115,992 (28.7) | 15,780 (32.0) | 28,951 (27.9) | 38,349 (28.7) | 32,912 (28.0) |
| Menopausal status | |||||
| Premenopausal | 52,284 (24.5) | 9041 (27.1) | 12,968 (21.0) | 17,215 (24.2) | 13,060 (27.7) |
| Postmenopausal | 161,227 (75.5) | 24,321 (72.9) | 48,783 (79.0) | 53,981 (75.8) | 34,142 (72.3) |
| BMI3, kg/m2 | 27.3 (27.3, 27.3) | 26.0 (26.0, 26.1) | 26.9 (26.9, 27.0) | 27.5 (27.5, 27.5) | 28.1 (28.0, 28.1) |
| Waist circumference3, cm | 90.2 (90.2, 90.3) | 87.2 (87.1, 87.4) | 89.2 (89.2, 89.3) | 90.0 (90.5, 90.6) | 92.0 (92.0, 92.1) |
1
Values are presented as n (%) of participants, means (95% CIs), or means ± SDs. All associations P < 0.001 based on ANOVA for characteristics presented as means ± SDs and Pearson's chi for those presented as n (%).
2
Each serving of fruit and vegetable is equivalent to 1 piece of fresh fruit (approximately 80 g), 2 pieces of dried fruit (approximately 15 g) or 2 heaped tablespoons of vegetables (approximately 50 g) (28).
3
Arithmatic means adjusted for sex and age.