Table 1.
Sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics by age group and sex of two subpopulations, differing based on milk intake.
| Reference Group (REF) | Fortified Milk Consumers (FMCs) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Boys | Girls | Total | Boys | Girls | ||
| n = 707 | n = 357 | n = 350 | n = 741 | n = 371 | n = 370 | ||
| Age, mean ± SD (years) | 1 to <3 years | 1.52 ± 0.50 | 1.60 ± 0.49 | 1.44 ± 0.50 | 1.46 ± 0.50 | 1.44 ± 0.50 | 1.48 ± 0.50 |
| 3 to <6 years | 3.87 ± 0.82 | 3.85 ± 0.82 | 3.89 ± 0.83 | 3.79 ± 0.82 | 3.81 ± 0.83 | 3.76 ± 0.82 | |
| 6 to <10 years | 7.60 ± 1.12 | 7.55 ± 1.11 | 7.66 ± 1.12 | 7.57 ± 1.10 | 7.61 ± 1.11 | 7.53 ± 1.09 | |
| 1 to <3 years | 162 (22.9) * | 84 (23.5) * | 78 (22.3) * | 294 (39.7) * | 144 (38.8) * | 150 (40.5) * | |
| Age group, n (%) |
3 to <6 years | 244 (34.5) * | 122 (34.2) * | 122 (34.9) * | 262 (35.4) * | 128 (34.5) * | 134 (36.2) * |
| 6 to <10 years | 301 (42.6) * | 151 (42.3) * | 150 (42.9) * | 185 (25) * | 99 (26.7) * | 86 (23.2) * | |
| Anthropometric characteristics, median (IQR) | Z-BMI/Age | 0.6 (−0.3–1.5) | 0.6 (−0.3–1.5) | 0.6 (−0.3–1.4) | 0.5 (−0.3–(−1.4) | 0.45 (−0.3–1.4) | 0.5 (−0.3–1.4) |
| Z-Weight/Age | 0.5 (−0.3–1.2) | 0.4 (−0.4–1.2) | 0.6 (−0.3–1.3) | 0.6 (−0.3–1.4) | 0.6 (−0.1–1.4) | 0.5 (−0.3–1.4) | |
| Z-Height/Age | −0.3 (−1.2–(−0.9)) | −0.2 (−1.1–1.0) | −0.4 (−1.3–0.7) | −0.4 ** (−1.4–0.6) | −0.4 ** (−1.4–0.6) | −0.4 (−1.5–0.6) | |
| PAL, median (IQR) | 1 to <3 years | 1.6 (1.3–1.8) | 1.6 (1.4–1.8) | 1.5 (1.3–1.8) | 1.5(1.3–1.7) | 1.5 (1.3–1.8) | 1.5(1.3–1.7) |
| 3 to <6 years | 1.6 (1.4–1.7) | 1.6 (1.4–1.7) | 1.5 (1.4–1.7) | 1.5 (1.4–1.7) | 1.5(1.4–1.7) | 1.5(1.4–1.7) | |
| 6 to <10 years | 1.6 (1.4–1.7) | 1.6 (1.4–1.8) | 1.6 (1.5–1.7) | 1.6 (1.5–1.7) | 1.6(1.5–1.8) | 1.6(1.5–1.7) | |
| Size of the municipality, n (%) |
50.001 a 300.000 people | 376 (53.2) | 193 (54.1) | 183 (52.3) | 406 (54.8) | 204 (55.0) | 202 (54.6) |
| >300.000 people | 331 (46.8) | 164 (45.9) | 167 (47.7) | 335 (45.2) | 167 (45.0) | 168 (45.4) | |
| Highest level of education achieved by one of the parents, n (%) |
≤10 years of education | 23 (3.3) | 10 (2.9) | 13 (3.8) | 14 (1.9) | 7 (1.9) | 7 (1.9) |
| Secondary education | 416 (60.5) | 219 (62.9) | 197 (57.9) | 414 (57.0) | 208 (57.5) | 206 (56.6) | |
| University studies | 249 (36.2) | 119 (34.2) | 130 (38.2) | 298 (41.0) | 147 (40.6) | 151 (41.5) | |
| Family income, n (%) | Low (<1500 EUR) | 171 (24.2) | 79 (22.1) | 92 (26.3) | 163 (22.0) | 84 (22.6) | 79 (21.4) |
| Medium (1501 to 2000 EUR) | 126 (17.8) | 67 (18.8) | 59 (16.9) | 134 (18.1) | 64 (17.3) | 70 (18.9) | |
| High (>2000 EUR) | 226 (32.0) | 123 (34.5) | 103 (29.4) | 238 (32.1) | 110 (29.6) | 128 (34.6) | |
| No answer/doesn’t know | 184 (26.0) | 88 (24.6) | 96 (27.4) | 206 (27.8) | 113 (30.5) | 93 (25.1) | |
| Number of feeding bottles or glasses of milk per day, n (%) |
Less than 2 | 222 (32.9) | 110 (32.0) | 115 (33.8) | 178 (24.1) | 92 (24.9) | 86 (23.3) |
| 2 o more | 459 (67.1) | 234 (68.0) | 225 (66.2) | 561 (75.9) | 278 (75.1) | 283 (76.7) | |
BMI: Body Mass Index; PAL: Physical Activity Level. The PAL was calculated for individual and group level according to the European Food Safety 269 Authority (EFSA) protocol to assess misreporting [22]. Values are presented as median (interquartile range) or percentage per group. * Significant differences between the reference group and fortified milk consumers (in the total and by sex) are shown, applying the Chi-square and Mann–Whitney tests. ** p < 0.01 difference vs. reference group (Mann–Whitney’s U test). Adapted with permission from Ref. [44].