Change in Australian adults’ eating habits from 1995 to 2011-13

Data for these analyses were provided by Australian adults (19-85 years) who participated in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey, and adults who participated in the 2011-13 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey. The purpose of this study was to examine change in dietary inequalities in intakes of energy, macronutrients, fiber, fruits and vegetables among Australian adults between 1995 and 2011-13. Variables included: 1) Dietary intake: In 1995, dietary data were collected via an in-person three-stage multiple pass 24-hour food recall with a trained dietitian and a self-administered, written dietary questionnaire in which they reported the number of daily serves of fruits and vegetables usually consumed in the past 12 months. In 2011-12, dietary data were collected via a computer-assisted in-person five-stage multiple pass 24-hour food recall with trained interviewers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and reported the number of daily serves of fruits and vegetables they normally consumed to a trained interviewer. 2) Socioeconomic position: Educational level was categorized as low (less than secondary), medium (secondary/trade/diploma), or high (tertiary). Income was expressed as gross equivalized household income and categorized as low (decile 1-3), medium (decile 4-7), or high (decile 8-10). The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA) was used to estimate area-level disadvantage in quintiles ordered from most (quintile 1) to least disadvantaged (quintile 5). 3) Sociodemographic variables: Age (continuous), smoking status (current, former, never), sex.