Evaluation of dietary pattern stability and physical activity in three consecutive generations of women

This study aimed to characterize major dietary patterns (DPs) in three consecutive generations and to delineate DP changes.

Usual dietary intakes of 547 women from three generations were assessed using a validated dish-based Food Frequency Questionnaire. Factor analysis was performed to identify DPs, participants' scores for each DP were calculated and changes in DP scores and mean consumption of food groups were evaluated. Using Latent Class Analysis (LCA), participants were ranked according to their scores receiving for each DP.

Three major DPs, defined as Traditional (TDP), Healthy (HDP), and Western (WDP) and the comparison of DP adherence between generations showed that TDP remained stable over time. WDP and HDP scores increased from Generation1 to the recent. Based on LCA, the "multifarious class" was similar in three generations. The "traditional class", "transitional class", and "health conscious class" were defined within the oldest, middle-aged, and younger generation, respectively.

The younger women tended to have higher score for both WDP and HDP. This paradox may be as a result of health conscious behaviors parallel the unfavorable inevitable lifestyle changes.