Nutritional status by socioeconomic level in an urban sample from Bilbao (Basque Country)

Anthropometry, records of food intake, and bioelectric impedance were gathered from a sample of 297 adults of both sexes who lived in marginal districts in the town of Bilbao and benefited from a program of social assistance. This survey aimed to determine present nutritional status and to ascertain the relationship between food intake and nutritional conditions. A comparative evaluation of anthropometry and food intake was then carried out using a reference from the Basque Country and a control sample from the same area but from better-off nutritional and socioeconomic conditions. Males from low socioeconomic status (SES) displayed lower heights and weights compared to the local reference and control sample. They showed higher skinfold thickness than males in the local reference but lower thicknesses than those in the control sample. All anthropometric variables, except height, were higher in women of low socioeconomic status compared to the local reference and control sample. Low socioeconomic males had lower estimated percentage of body fat than the control sample, while females showed the opposite pattern. On the other hand, estimates of food intake in males did not reveal great differences among samples from different socioeconomic backgrounds, while low SES females had greater intakes of food than the better-off control sample. Estimated zinc intake showed differences by SES in both sexes.