The Maltese like vegetables but the majority of them never consume sugared drinks. They eat fish, rabbit and chicken once or twice a week but do not like much sugar with their coffee.
These are the results of a Depart-ment of Health Information survey on a large sample (5,000) of adult Maltese residents in 2002, made public yesterday ahead of World Food Day, to be celebrated on Monday. Among the questions addressing lifestyle practices, a section on food habits was included.
Summary of Results:
• Starchy Foods (including bread, rice/pasta, cereals, potatoes) – brown bread was the least common type of bread eaten locally. Individuals with a higher education consumed more starchy foods.
• Vegetables and Fruit – 63 per cent of interviewees consumed fresh fruit every day. Consumption of vegetables and fresh fruit is less frequent in individuals with lower education.
• Fish – most interviewees consumed fish once or twice a week. Higher consumption was noted with increasing age. Individuals with lower education featured more in the group that never consumed fish.
• Chicken/Rabbit, Meat and Meat Products – most respondents consume chicken or rabbit meat once or twice a week with very little difference according to age. The level of education had no bearing on the consumption of chicken and rabbit. However, those with higher education tended to eat less red meat. This difference was less significant with processed meat products.
• Cheese and Low-Fat Cheese – the majority of interviewees consumed cheese and/or low-fat cheese on two or less days a week. Lower-educated individuals consume slightly more cheese.
• Oil or Fat – olive oil is the oil of choice with bread, whereas other vegetable oils are more commonly used in food preparation. Olive oil is used more frequently by individuals with higher education.
• Teaspoons or Cubes of Sugar – the number of teaspoonfuls of sugar used in coffee, tea and other hot beverages was 0-4. The highest mean value was for coffee at 0.6 teaspoons per cup.
• Sweets and Sweet Pastries – the greatest number of interviewees was found to be in the “never consume” category for both men and women, with an upward trend in sweet consumption being noted with increasing age. However, a large number of respondents reported extremes of sweet pastry consumption: either very low or daily. Sweets and sweet pastries appear to be consumed more by the higher educated.
• Sugared Soft Drinks – 57 per cent of interviewees reported never consuming sugared soft drinks, while 21 per cent reported daily consumption.
• Salt – almost half the interviewees said they added salt to their cooking and about a third said that they never added salt or used a low salt alternative. On the other hand, a quarter of interviewees almost always added salt to their meals at table. Education does not affect practices at table, but lower educated respondents tended to use more salt in their cooking.
• Changes in Eating Habits – almost a quarter of the interviewees reported that they had changed their eating habits over the previous three years, predominantly in the younger age groups. It was found that in all age groups more females than males had changed their eating habits. Higher educated respondents were found to be more likely to have changed their eating habits, with the commonest reason given for this change being to live a healthier life.
• Water – 68 per cent of respondents reported daily water consumption. Increasing water consumption was apparent in respondents with a higher education.
• Coffee, Tea and other Hot Beverages – coffee and tea were the commonest hot beverages drunk, with a mean value of 2.2 cups equally for tea and coffee and a mean value of 0.2 cups for “other hot beverages”.
• Milk – the commonest type of milk consumed by both male and female interviewees was fresh milk, followed by skimmed milk. However, older respondents tend to consume more skimmed milk. Evaporated milk is consumed most frequently by individuals with lower education.