Disparities in fresh fruit and vegetable intake by sociodemographic and behavioural factors among adults in China

Objective: To measure the associations of sociodemographic and behavioural factors with fruit and vegetable consumption among adults in China. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting: A 2015 wave of the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Participants: Totally, 11 910 adults aged 18 to 64 years. Results: Adjusted log binomial regression analyses showed that adults with higher income levels had higher fruit intake than those with low income levels (medium income group, risk ratio (RR): 1 center dot 28; 95 % CI: 1 center dot 16, 1 center dot 41; high income group, RR: 1 center dot 58; 95 % CI: 1 center dot 43, 1 center dot 74). Current smokers had lower fruit intake than non-smokers (RR: 0 center dot 86; 95 % CI: 0 center dot 77, 0 center dot 96). Adults living in southern China had higher vegetable intake (RR: 1 center dot 88; 95 % CI: 1 center dot 76, 2 center dot 01) but lower fruit intake (RR: 0 center dot 85; 95 % CI: 0 center dot 79, 0 center dot 91) than adults in northern China. With increasing age, adults had higher fruit intake (50-64 years, RR: 1 center dot 20; 95 % CI: 1 center dot 09, 1 center dot 33; reference category 18-34 years) and higher vegetable intake (35-49 years, RR: 1 center dot 13; 95 % CI: 1 center dot 05, 1 center dot 22; 50-64 years, RR: 1 center dot 22; 95 % CI: 1 center dot 13, 1 center dot 31). Conclusions: Our findings identify a range of sociodemographic and behavioural factors associated with fruit and vegetable consumption among Chinese adults. They also point to the need for public health nutrition interventions for socially disadvantaged populations in China.