Fruit and vegetable intake and associated factors in older adults in South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of sample characteristics and prevalence rate of insufficient fruit and vegetable (FV) intake among older South Africans (male 1,638; female 2,202)

	Total sample	Male	Female	Total	Fruits	Vegetables	FV
	N (%)	Insufficient FV in %			Mean servings/day
All	3,840	64.8	71.4	68.5	1.8 (1.4)	2.2 (1.5)	4.0 (2.5)
Age
50–59	1,695 (49.9)	67.9	70.8	69.5	1.8 (1.3)	2.2 (1.4)	4.0 (2.5)
60–69	1,233 (30.6)	60.1	73.5	67.6	1.8 (1.3)	2.3 (1.5)	4.1 (2.6)
70 and over	912 (19.5)	63.6	69.9	67.5	1.9 (1.6)	2.2 (1.5)	4.1 (2.7)
Population group
African Black	2,053 (74.0)	71.0	73.2	72.3	1.8 (1.4)	2.1 (1.5)	3.9 (2.6)
White	269 (9.3)	38.3	55.7	47.7	2.2 (1.3)	2.7 (1.3)	4.9 (2.4)
Colored	655 (12.8)	72.8	74.2	73.7	1.6 (0.9)	2.0 (1.1)	3.6 (1.8)
Indian or Asian	307 (3.8)	45.1	60.7	54.6	2.1 (1.4)	2.8 (2.0)	4.9 (3.1)
Marital status
Single	512 (14.3)	65.9	75.2	72.7	1.6 (1.2)	2.1 (1.5)	3.7 (2.4)
Married	2,007 (55.9)	64.6	66.9	65.4	1.9 (1.4)	2.3 (1.4)	4.2 (2.4)
Separated/divorced	230 (5.9)	64.7	75.4	72.3	1.6 (1.3)	2.3 (1.6)	3.9 (2.5)
Widow	1,020 (23.9)	65.1	72.6	71.6	1.8 (1.5)	2.2 (1.5)	4.0 (2.9)
Educational level
No schooling	854 (25.2)	78.2	80.0	79.4	1.6 (1.5)	1.9 (1.4)	3.5 (2.5)
Less than primary	803 (24.0)	73.1	69.2	70.8	1.7 (1.3)	2.2 (1.5)	3.9 (2.6)
Primary	779 (22.4)	68.8	68.6	68.7	1.9 (1.3)	2.2 (1.3)	4.1 (2.3)
Secondary or more	923 (28.3)	52.1	66.2	60.1	2.0 (1.4)	2.5 (1.6)	4.5 (2.6)
Wealth
Low	1,482 (40.6)	72.8	75.8	74.5	1.9 (1.1)	2.2 (1.3)	4.1 (2.1)
Medium	731 (18.2)	67.7	70.3	69.5	1.7 (1.4)	2.1 (1.4)	3.8 (2.5)
High	1,608 (41.2)	56.5	67.1	61.9	2.0 (1.7)	2.6 (1.9)	4.6 (3.4)
Geolocality
Rural	1,276 (35.1)	73.7	76.2	75.1	1.7 (1.6)	2.1 (1.7)	3.8 (3.0)
Urban	2,561 (64.9)	60.1	68.7	64.9	1.9 (1.2)	2.3 (1.3)	4.2 (2.3)
Other conditions
Hypertension	2,842 (77.3)	65.3	68.7	67.3	1.8 (1.4)	2.3 (1.5)	4.1 (2.6)
Symptom-based depression	161 (4.2)	80.5	70.6	74.7	1.6 (1.4)	2.0 (1.3)	3.6 (2.4)
Diabetes	360 (9.2)	57.5	65.5	62.8	1.9 (1.4)	2.5 (1.7)	4.4 (2.8)
Overweight (BMI ≥25)	2,505 (72.4)	59.5	68.8	65.0	1.9 (1.4)	2.3 (1.5)	4.2 (2.6)
Eat less because of no food
Every or almost every month	291 (9.9)	69.8	75.8	73.6	1.6 (1.9)	1.9 (1.5)	3.6 (2.8)
Some months or only 1 or 2 months	637 (19.2	54.7	61.0	58.5	2.1 (1.6)	2.6 (1.9)	4.7 (3.3)
Never	2,699 (70.9)	64.4	72.5	68.8	1.8 (1.2)	2.2 (1.3)	3.9 (2.2)
Hungry because could not afford
Every or almost every month	312 (9.6)	72.7	76.8	75.3	1.6 (1.9)	1.9 (1.4)	3.5 (2.8)
Some months or only 1 or 2 months	708 (21.8)	54.7	61.7	59.0	2.2 (1.6)	2.6 (2.0)	4.8 (3.4)
Never	3,630 (68.5)	64.5	72.4	68.7	1.8 (1.2)	2.2 (1.3)	3.9 (2.2)
Daily tobacco use	810 (20.4)	74.4	76.8	75.6	1.6 (1.4)	1.9 (1.2)	3.5 (2.2)
Alcohol use (past month)	557 (13.7)	71.4	77.6	73.5	1.6 (1.4)	1.9 (1.2)	3.5 (2.4)
Physical inactivity	2,455 (60.5)	64.2	70.6	67.9	1.9 (1.5)	2.3 (1.7)	4.2 (2.9)
Subjective health status
Very/good	1,469 (37.9)	61.2	69.8	65.6	1.9 (1.1)	2.2 (1.3)	4.1 (2.1)
Moderate	1,681 (44.9)	70.3	75.2	73.2	1.7 (1.4)	2.1 (1.4)	3.8 (2.5)
Bad/very bad	617 (17.5)	58.2	62.3	60.5	2.0 (1.7)	2.6 (1.9)	4.6 (3.4)
Religious involvement	1,596 (52.9)	60.7	68.1	65.1	1.9 (1.4)	2.4 (1.6)	4.3 (2.8)
Social cohesion index (range 9–72); M (SD)=	22.1 (6.5)	22.7 (7.0)	21.8 (6.7)	22.1 (6.7)
Quality of life (range 0–100)	47.1 (12.5)	45.5 (12.6)	47.2 (11.9)	46.2 (12.3)

Table 2. Univariate and multivariable analyses of association of demographic, social, and health factors with insufficient fruit and vegetable (FV) intake in older South Africans

	Unadjusted odds ratios (95% CI)	Adjusted odds ratios (95% CI)
Gender
Female	1.00	1.00
Male	0.74 (0.61–0.89)**	0.82 (0.65–1.04)
Age
50–59	1.00	1.00
60–69	0.92 (0.71–1.18)	1.06 (0.82–1.38)
70 and over	0.91 (0.71–1.17)	0.95 (0.69–1.32)
Population group
Black African	1.00	1.00
White	0.35 (0.15–0.80)*	0.46 (0.22–0.97)*
Colored	1.07 (0.64–1.80)	1.18 (0.72–1.92)
Indian or Asian	0.46 (0.25–0.83)*	0.53 (0.28–0.98)*
Marital status
Single	1.00	–
Married	0.71 (0.39–1.29)	–
Separated/divorced	0.98 (0.52–1.84)	–
Widow	0.94 (0.49–1.81)	–
Educational level
No schooling	1.00	1.00
Less than primary	0.93 (0.61–1.40)	0.64 (0.40–1.04)
Primary	0.84 (0.54–1.31)	0.56 (0.31–1.01)
Secondary or more	0.57 (0.38–0.86)**	0.55 (0.35–0.86)*
Wealth
Low	1.00	–
Medium	0.78 (0.55–1.10)	–
High	0.56 (0.30–1.02)	–
Geolocality
Rural	1.00	–
Urban	0.61 (0.26–1.43)	–
Other conditions
Hypertension (examined and self-report)	0.87 (0.58–1.29)	–
Diabetes	0.80 (0.52–1.22)	–
Overweight	0.66 (0.49–0.87)**	0.90 (0.65–1.26)
Symptom based depression	1.45 (0.64–3.29)	–
Eat less because of no food
Every or almost every month	1.00	–
Some months or only 1 or 2 months	0.47 (0.15–1.48)	–
Never	0.72 (0.35–1.47)	–
Hungry because could not afford
Every or almost every month	1.00	–
Some months or only 1 or 2 months	0.51 (0.16–1.65)	–
Never	0.79 (0.41–1.53)	–
Daily tobacco use	1.65 (1.13–2.40)**	1.67 (1.07–2.59)*
Alcohol use (past month)	1.40 (0.82–2.40)	–
Physical inactivity	0.94 (0.57–1.53)	–
Subjective health status
Very/good	1.00	–
Moderate	1.43 (0.89–2.32)	–
Bad/very bad	0.80 (0.41–1.56)	–
Social cohesion index	1.00 (0.97–1.03)	–
Religious involvement	0.71 (0.53–0.91)*	0.95 (0.66–1.36)
Quality of life	0.95 (0.91–1.00)*	0.98 (0.95–1.01)

**P<0.01; *P<0.5.