Table 2.
Dietary practices among low-income adults by gender and ethnicity
| Variables | Total (N = 2983) |
Gender | Ethnicity | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male (n = 1486) |
Female (n = 1497) |
Malay (n = 1920) |
Chinese (n = 485) |
Indian (n = 565) |
||
| n (%) | ||||||
| Prevalence of inadequate intake of fruit or vegetablesa | 2670 (89.5) | 1335 (89.8) | 1335 (89.2) | 1738 (90.5)* | 413 (85.2) | 507 (89.7) |
| Cook/prepare meals at home | 1539 (51.6) | 315 (21.2) | 1224 (81.8)* | 1028 (53.5) | 229 (47.2) | 272 (48.1) |
| Dining out at least once in a weekb | 1382 (46.3) | 789 (53.1) | 593 (39.6)* | 920 (47.9) | 207 (42.7) | 250 (44.3) |
| Frequency of ultra-processed beverages and foods consumption | ||||||
| Overall intake of SSBs at least once per weekc | 2031 (68.1) | 1066 (71.7)* | 965 (64.5) | 1349 (70.3)* | 280 (57.7) | 396 (69.9)* |
| CPRD drinks | ||||||
| ≥ Once a day | 57 (1.9) | 37 (2.5)* | 20 (1.3) | 39 (2.0) | 10 (2.1) | 8 (1.4) |
| ≥ Once a week | 571 (19.2) | 344 (23.3)* | 227 (15.2) | 350 (18.3) | 88 (18.2) | 131 (23.3) |
| Seldom/never | 2343 (78.9) | 1098 (74.2) | 1245 (83.5) | 1523 (79.7) | 385 (79.7) | 424 (75.3) |
| Sugar-added self-prepared drink | ||||||
| ≥ Once a day | 540 (18.1) | 275 (18.5) | 265 (17.7) | 388 (20.2)* | 40 (8.3) | 107 (18.9)* |
| ≥ Once a week | 1233 (41.4) | 657 (44.3)* | 576 (38.5) | 821 (42.8) | 191 (39.5) | 219 (38.8) |
| Seldom/never | 1206 (40.5) | 552 (37.2) | 654 (43.8) | 708 (36.9) | 253 (52.3) | 239 (42.3) |
| Premixed drinks | ||||||
| ≥ Once a day | 165 (5.6) | 72 (4.9) | 93 (6.2) | 116 (6.1) | 20 (4.2)* | 28 (5.0) |
| ≥ Once a week | 633 (21.2) | 332 (22.4) | 301 (20.2) | 387 (20.2) | 126 (26.3)* | 119 (21.2) |
| Seldom/never | 2175 (73.2) | 1076 (72.7) | 1099 (73.6) | 1415 (73.8) | 334 (69.6) | 415 (73.8) |
| Commercially baked goods | ||||||
| ≥ Once a day | 238 (8.0) | 97 (6.6) | 141 (9.5)* | 156 (8.2) | 33 (6.8) | 48 (8.5)* |
| ≥ Once a week | 1333 (44.9) | 660 (44.7) | 673 (45.1) | 887 (46.5)* | 185 (38.2) | 253 (45.0) |
| Seldom/never | 1396 (47.1) | 719 (48.7) | 677 (45.4) | 865 (45.3) | 266 (55.0) | 261 (46.5) |
| Packaged snack foods | ||||||
| ≥ Once a day | 77 (2.6) | 40 (2.7) | 37 (2.5) | 54 (2.8) | 8 (1.7) | 15 (2.7) |
| ≥ Once a week | 861 (29.0) | 460 (31.0) | 401 (27.0) | 564 (29.5) | 132 (27.3) | 162 (28.9) |
| Seldom/never | 2029 (68.4) | 982 (66.3) | 1047 (70.5) | 1291 (67.6) | 344 (71.1) | 385 (68.5) |
| Fast food | ||||||
| ≥ Once a day | 28 (0.9) | 17 (1.2) | 11 (0.7) | 19 (1.0) | 3 (0.6) | 5 (1.1) |
| ≥ Once a week | 445 (15.0) | 229 (15.5) | 216 (14.5) | 270 (14.1) | 88 (18.4) | 86 (15.2) |
| Seldom/never | 2496 (84.1) | 1234 (83.4) | 1262 (84.8) | 1631 (84.9) | 388 (81.0) | 473 (83.7) |
| Frequency of less healthy local food consumption | ||||||
| Fried foods | ||||||
| ≥ Once a day | 106 (3.6) | 60 (4.1) | 46 (3.1) | 90 (4.7)* | 6 (1.2) | 10 (1.8) |
| ≥ Once a week | 1142 (38.5) | 571 (38.5) | 571 (38.4) | 799 (41.8)* | 157 (32.6) | 180 (32.1) |
| Seldom/never | 1722 (58.0) | 852 (57.5) | 870 (58.5) | 1025 (53.6) | 319 (66.2) | 371 (66.1) |
| Dessert food | ||||||
| ≥ Once a day | 97 (3.3) | 47 (3.2) | 50 (3.4) | 78 (4.1)* | 8 (1.7) | 10 (1.8) |
| ≥ Once a week | 945 (31.9) | 456 (30.9) | 489 (32.9) | 646 (33.8)* | 141 (29.3) | 154 (27.5) |
| Seldom/never | 1923 (64.9) | 974 (65.9) | 949 (63.8) | 1186 (62.1) | 333 (69.1) | 396 (70.7) |
Chi-square test was conducted, a p-value of lesser than 0.05 (*) indicates significant difference between gender or among ethnic groups
CPRD commercially packed ready-to-drink, SSBs sugar-sweetened beverages
a Inadequate fruits or vegetables intake: consume less than a total of 5 servings of fruits and/or vegetables per day according to WHO dietary recommendation for adults
b Dining out for having main meals or snacks i.e. teatime/supper
c Sugar-sweetened beverages include commercially packed ready-to-drink beverages, sugar-added self-prepared drinks, and premixed drinks