Nutrition and its socioeconomic inequalities in lithuanian schoolchildren

The doctoral thesis analyzes eating habits and their socioeconomic inequalities in 11–18 years old Lithuanian schoolchildren. The objectives of the study were: 1) to assess schoolchildren's eating habits and compare them by gender and age; 2) to analyze the interrelations between different eating habits; 3) to examine the relationships between eating habits and socioeconomic factors; 4) to assess the relevance of socioeconomic factors in the context of lifestyle, environmental and other factors that associate with nutrition. The doctoral thesis is based on two cross-sectional studies: 1) 2010 study „Health Behavior of School-aged Children“ (HBSC) in Lithuania; 2) 2012 study „Nutrition inequalities among schoolchildren in Lithuania“. Studies were performed as anonymous surveys conducted during spring of 2010 and 2012. The studies revealed that most of Lithuanian schoolchildren have unhealthy eating habits; unhealthy eating habits are more strongly associated than healthy habits. It was found that family affluence (FAS scale) is the mostly associated factor with nutrition of adolescent compared to other socioeconomic indicators (7 socioeconomic indicators were analyzed). The analysis of associations between socioeconomic, lifestyle, environmental, and other factors with eating habits revealed that family affluence (as of FAS) is the most consistent independent factor for adolescent nutrition inequalities