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Regional differences in consumption of 103 fat products in Belgium: a supermarket-chain sales approach
E M Den Hond1, E E Lesaffre, H E Kesteloot
1Department of Epidemiology, School for Public Health, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium.
Objective:
In Belgium, important regional differences in mortality exist which have been linked to differences in dietary consumption patterns.
Methods:
To study regional food consumption in Belgium, sales data of 103 spreading and cooking fat products in 110 branch stores of a major supermarket chain (Colruyt) for 12 months (1991-92) were analyzed.
Results:
Sale of more ordinary and polyunsaturated spreading margarine and of more polyunsaturated low-fat spread in the north in combination with a greater sale of butter and dairy low-fat spread in the south resulted in a P/S-ratio of 0.99 in the north vs. 0.40 in the south (p < 0.001) and a U/S-ratio of 1.93 vs. 1.10 (p < 0.001) for spreading fats. The P/S- and U/S-ratios of cooking fats were lower in the north (ns). Mortality data correlated positively with the sale of butter and dairy low-fat spread and negatively with sales data of spreading margarine, polyunsaturated spreading margarine, and polyunsaturated low-fat spread (all p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
Sales data from supermarket chains provide useful information on regional fat consumption and offer interesting perspectives of trends over time.