A multilevel study of area socio-economic status and food purchasing behaviour

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the association between area socio-economic status (SES) and food purchasing behaviour. DESIGN: Data were collected by mail survey (64.2 % response rate). Area SES was indicated by the proportion of households in each area earning less than $AUS 400 per week, and individual-level socio-economic position was measured using education, occupation and household income. Food purchasing was measured on the basis of compliance with dietary guideline recommendations (for grocery foods) and variety of fruit and vegetable purchase. Multilevel regression analysis examined the association between area SES and food purchase after adjustment for individual-level d..