Diet and Nutrition Survey of Infants and Young Children in Scotland, 2011

Chapter 3 Sample characteristics

Summary of sample

• The Diet and Nutrition Survey of Infants and Young Children in Scotland (DNSIYCS) achieved a total sample of 616 infants and young children aged between 4 and 18 months.
• The profile of the achieved Scotland sample was very close to that of the population of infants and young children in the United Kingdom (UK) in terms of age and sex and region, but not ethnicity. After applying weighting factors, 95% of children in DNSIYCS were white; a higher proportion than in the UK sample (82%).
• There was a wide range of socioeconomic circumstances for the children in the survey; larger proportions of their parents were home owners (55%) than living in rented accommodation (42%). A fifth (19%) received Healthy Start (HS) vouchers.
• The mean age of the mothers in the survey was 30 years with very few under 20 years (3%) and 40 years or over (6%). Just under one-third were educated to degree level. Just over half of the mothers were married and living with their husband.
• In 62% of households no one smoked and in 87% of households someone drank alcohol. The proportions of mothers who smoked and drank alcohol at the time of the survey were higher in Scotland than in the UK sample. As in the UK sample, younger mothers were more likely to have smoked when they knew they were pregnant. On the other hand, older mothers were more likely to continue to drink alcohol when they knew they were pregnant. The proportions of mothers drinking alcohol at the time of the survey and in the three months before they knew they were pregnant were higher in Scotland than in the UK sample.
• For many children in the survey (44%), the parents were the only carers of the child; for those who did have childcare, grandparents were the most frequent carers (35%), caring more often than nurseries (13%), childminders or nannies (6%), or other relatives (7%).
• Infants and young children in DNSIYCS showed progressive rates of development in terms of picking up objects, sitting, crawling, standing, walking and speech, as expected with increasing age.
• In relation to health behaviours, it was interesting to note that there was greater compliance with recommendations for brushing of teeth of young children in Scotland than in the UK sample.
• Nearly half of all infants and young children had been outside between the hours of 10am and 3pm every day in the previous seven days before the interview. Most had not been on a holiday with strong sun in the previous year.
• Diets of mothers in Scotland were largely similar to those in the UK sample, although mothers in Scotland reported eating crisps and sweets more frequently, drinking sweetened drinks more often, being more likely to use butter as spread, and less likely to eat oily fish frequently and to have fresh vegetables available in the home.
• There were some encouraging aspects of the mothers' diets overall, such as the high proportion who had breakfast every day, water being the most common drink consumed when thirsty and none of the fat on meat being consumed. As in the UK sample, the diets of older mothers were reported as generally healthier than younger mothers.
• As seen in the UK sample, there were some examples of mothers representing opposite ends of the health awareness and behaviour spectrum. For example, the two most common responses to use of salt were either 'always' adding salt to food or 'never' adding salt to food. This was also seen in the choice of diet or low calorie soft drinks, where 'always' and 'never' were the answers chosen most often.
• Most mothers (86%) were aware of the recommendation that five portions of fruit and vegetables should be eaten daily, but far fewer were aware of the recommended amount of salt (13%) and oily fish (11%) that should be consumed.
• Fifty seven per cent of breastfeeding mothers in Scotland reported taking any type of supplement. The most common supplement taken was a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement, taken by 35%.

3.1. Representativeness of the sample

3.1.1. Achieved Scottish sample compared to Child Benefit extract for recipients living in Scotland

The Diet and Nutrition Survey of Infants and Young Children in Scotland (DNSIYCS) achieved a total sample of 616 infants and young children aged between 4 and 18 months. Table 3.1.1 shows population characteristics for Child Benefit (CB) recipients living in Scotland. These were compared with the achieved Scottish sample (this includes parents from the core sample and Scottish boost sample, but excludes the Healthy Start (HS) boost)^[1],[2]. No weighting factors were applied to the achieved sample for this comparison.

The profile of the achieved sample was very close to that of the population of infants and young children in Scotland. There were, however, a few differences; for example, responding parents tended to be slightly older and responding households tended to contain more children. These two factors are likely to be linked, as older mothers tend to have more children. The achieved sample had a very similar distribution to the population for the age and sex of the child and a similar distribution in terms of sex to the recipients of child benefit. There was no evidence of large biases caused by sampling error or non-response.

The small differences in age of mothers and household size were corrected using non‑response weighting factors. When these weighting factors were applied, differences in participant profiles were corrected and the profile of the achieved sample was brought closer to that of the Scottish population. The analyses presented in chapters 3 through 6 of the report are based on data which has had weighting factors applied.

Table 3.1.1

3.2. Response rates

This section describes response rates for DNSIYCS.

3.2.1. Individual level response

Of the 987 children living in Scotland sampled from CB Records, 97% were eligible to take part in the survey. Ineligible cases included those where the selected child had a birth weight of less than 2kg, had used a feeding tube at or after one week of age, no longer lived at the sampled address, had died, or was aged 18 months or older at the time of interview. Three per cent of eligible cases opted out of the survey either by phone call or letter (2% before fieldwork and 1% during fieldwork). These cases were either not issued to interviewers or not approached at the doorstep.

Of those eligible to take part, 65% were fully productive, i.e. three or four dietary recording days were completed. This gave a sample size of 616 fully productive participants. The percentage of fully productive participants was very similar in DNSIYCS to the UK sample (62%).

Table 3.2.1

Figure 3.A details the number of children who completed each component of the survey.

Figure 3.A. Summary of response to stages in DNSIYCS

3.3. The child and their environment

The results presented in this chapter derive from the Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI). This section describes some of the background characteristics of the infants and young children in DNSIYCS and the households in which they lived.

The survey is based on 616 infants and young children for whom parents answered questions and provided dietary information. Results in this section are based on data that have had weighting factors applied for different selection probabilities of boost sample members and non-response to the individual questionnaire as indicated in Chapter 2 (to reflect the Scotland population more accurately).

Any comparisons by age in Chapter 3 were tested at the 95% significance level and only statistically significant differences are highlighted in the text. Comparisons of policy interest in Chapter 3 were also tested at the 95% significance level against the Diet and Nutrition Survey of Infants and Young Children (DNSIYC) UK sample. Again, statistically significant differences are highlighted in the text.

3.3.1. Age

When weighting factors were applied, the final proportions of children in the four age groups studied were 12% of children aged 4 to 6 months, 23% aged 7 to 9 months, 17% aged 10 to 11 months and 49% aged 12 to 18 months. These proportions were similar to those in the UK sample although there were fewer children aged 7 to 9 months in Scotland and more aged 12 to 18 months. The proportions of children of each sex in each age group were very similar.

Table 3.3.1

3.3.2. Household structure

In 47% of cases; the surveyed child was the only child in the family; 35% of children were one of two children; 13% were one of three and 4% were one of four or more. Forty nine per cent of children surveyed were their mother's first child, similar to the UK sample. Ninety eight per cent were single births, as in the UK.

Table 3.3.2

3.3.3. Ethnicity

Overall, 95% of children in DNSIYCS were white, 2% were Asian, 1% were black, and 2% were mixed or 'other'. There was a significantly higher proportion of white children in Scotland than in the UK sample, where white children were 82% of the total.

Table 3.3.3

3.3.4. National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC), housing tenure

Twenty two per cent of surveyed children lived in a household where the Household Reference Person (HRP) was in a lower managerial and professional occupation, about 17% in higher managerial and professional occupation or a semi-routine occupation and 11% in a routine occupation. Smaller proportions of surveyed children lived in households where HRPs were in other types of occupation, had never worked, were unemployed or were not classified. These proportions were very similar to the UK sample.

Overall, 51% of surveyed children lived in households where HRPs owned their own homes with a mortgage and 42% were in rented accommodation. Very small proportions were in other types of accommodation, such as owning outright, shared ownership or living rent-free.

Tables 3.3.4

3.3.5 Household smoking and drinking

For 62% of children overall, no one in the household smoked. This proportion was higher for children aged 4 to 6 months (78%) than for the other age groups, unlike the UK sample, there was little variation with age of child. For 25% of children, the interviewee smoked; this was usually, but not always, the mother; for another 19% of children, the interviewee's partner smoked and for 8%, someone else in the household smoked.

In 87% of households, someone in the household drank alcohol, significantly higher than in the UK sample (74%); for 74% of households the interviewee drank alcohol, for 59% the interviewee's partner drank, both higher proportions than in the UK sample. These proportions varied little with the age of the child.

Table 3.3.5.1 and 3.3.5.2

3.3.6. Healthy Start voucher recipients

HS vouchers were received in 19HHHealt% of the responding households with little variation with the age of the child, and similar to the UK sample.

Of the households receiving HS vouchers, 55% spent all or most of their vouchers on infant formula (refer to Chapter 6 for more details on the use of HS vouchers in Scotland and Annexe A of the UK report for the UK) and 27% were mainly spent on fruit and vegetables, both similar to the UK. For a much smaller proportion of households HS vouchers were spent only or mainly on cow's milk (6% overall), or on a combination of fruit and vegetables and infant formula or cow's milk, or on supplements. In 1% of households receiving HS vouchers, the vouchers were received but not used.

Tables 3.3.6.1 and 3.3.6.2

3.3.7. Childcare

In 44% of households it was reported that no one other than the parents (in the household) looked after the child, the same as in the UK sample. For 35% of children, grandparents provided care; 13% of children overall went to a day nursery; and smaller proportions of households used other types of childcare to look after the child (1 to 6%).

In the week preceding the survey children spent an average of 14.9 hours being looked after by family members. This was similar to the UK sample.

Of children receiving childcare, the majority (77% to 91% overall) received meals when in childcare. Children looked after in a nursery, crèche or playgroup were more likely to be offered water (80%) and less likely to be offered squash (10%) than those looked after by relatives (61% and 30%) or by a childminder, babysitter or other unrelated carer (61% and 24%). The proportion of children offered water and squash in a nursery, crèche or playgroup in the DNSIYCS was similar to the UK survey.

Tables 3.3.7.1 to 3.3.7.4b

3.3.8. Neurological development

Children showed development in terms of picking up objects, sitting, crawling, standing, walking and speech, as was to be expected with increasing age.

Tables 3.3.8.1 to 3.3.8.3

3.3.9 Teeth

At the time of the survey the proportion of children in Scotland with no teeth decreased with age from 68% of those aged 4 to 6 months to 1% of those 12 to 18 months. The number of teeth increased with age so the largest proportion (37%) of children aged 12 to 18 months had five to eight teeth.

For children with at least one tooth, the age the first tooth appeared varied widely. The most common age was 6 months (21%), with 15% at 5 months and 7 months, 12% at 8 months, and lesser proportions at younger and older ages. Five per cent had their first tooth before three months of age and 4% were over 12 months before the first tooth appeared.

The Scottish Government recommends that tooth brushing twice a day should begin as soon as teeth begin to appear^[3]. All children in Scotland with 13 or more teeth used a toothbrush at least 'sometimes'. Eight per cent of children with at least one tooth were reported to never use a toothbrush at the time of the survey, significantly lower than in the UK sample (19%).

Tables 3.3.9.1 to 3.3.9.3

3.3.10. Advice about diet and feeding

The parents of only a small proportion of children (5%) had received any advice from a dietitian on feeding their child. This was similar to the UK sample. The number of children for whom advice on feeding had been given to parents was too small to determine the main reasons for this advice.

Tables 3.3.10.1

3.3.11. Medications

At the time of the survey only 8% of children overall in Scotland were taking prescribed medications, with higher proportions in those aged over seven months. The purpose of the medications was evenly distributed for treating the gastro-intestinal system, respiratory system, central nervous system, infections and other conditions, as in the UK sample.

Table 3.3.11

3.3.12. Health problems and hospital visits

Overall, since birth, 74% of children had had a health problem necessitating consultation with a health professional (General Practitioner (GP), health visitor, National Health Service (NHS) direct or hospital). Nine per cent required admission to hospital, significantly lower than in the UK sample (13%), with little variation with age. Respiratory infections were particularly common.

Tables 3.3.12.1 and 3.3.12.2

3.3.13. Bowel habit

All children were still wearing nappies at the time of the survey. Parents reported that most children (66%) had a dirty nappy two to three times a day with little variation with age^[4]. Fewer children had a dirty nappy less often (21% once a day and 2% once in two to four days) or more often (9% four or more times per day). Unlike the UK sample, there was no variation with age for the frequency of having dirty nappies only once a day in Scotland.

Table 3.3.13

3.3.14. Sun exposure

Children in DNSIYC were born between the months of August 2009 and November 2010. Interviews were carried out between January and May, so children born in the autumn and winter, aged under 12 months, were unlikely to have experienced any summertime sunshine in their lifetime at the time of the interview. Details of sun exposure given below and in the tables should therefore be interpreted in light of the opportunities for sun exposure.

In the seven days prior to the survey interview, 4% of children overall had not been outside between 10am and 3pm at all, with little variation with age. Forty seven per cent had been outside between these hours every day. Much smaller proportions of children (2% to 12%) had been outside on one to six days. The proportions of children and the time they spent outside were similar to the UK sample.

Most children (85%) who spent time outside in the seven days before the interview usually spent three hours or less outside each day.

Fifty five per cent of children had never been in sun strong enough to tan or burn, significantly less than for the UK sample (63%). This proportion decreased with age from 77% of children 4 to 6 months to 42% of those aged 12 to 18 months. The three main precautions that were taken when children were exposed to strong sun were trying to keep the child in the shade as much as possible (41% of all children), using sun cream (41%) and covering the child up as much as possible (39%). Thirty per cent limited the amount of time the child spent outdoors. The proportions of interviewees reported to take each of the different precautions in strong sunshine were all significantly higher in the Scottish sample compared to the UK sample.

In the previous seven days sun cream had been used for 25% of children, more in those aged 12 to 18 months (29%) than in the other age groups. For 44% of children, sun cream had not been used in the last seven days but was used regularly when the child was out in the sun. For the remaining children it was not clear if the child had been in the sun or not, or if they had, whether sun cream had been used.

In the 12 months prior to the survey 23% of children had been on a holiday or a trip to a sunny place for more than two days. This increased steadily with age from 6% for those aged 4 to 6 months to 31% for those aged 12 to 18 months.

The latitudes of all holiday destinations have been determined and categorised into bands of 10° of latitude. The section that follows describes these destinations, and since the analysis is by holiday and not by participant, results are unweighted.

One hundred and eighty holidays were reported to have been taken by the 616 children from Scotland. Twenty five children had been on more than one holiday. Most, but not all, of these children were aged 12 to 18 months at the time of the survey. Most children had been on two holidays, but two had taken three holidays and one had taken four holidays. The largest proportion of holidays (40%) was taken at 40°N, which is the latitude for the southern countries of Europe, followed by 50° N (32%), 30°N (12%) and 60°N (9%). For 40°N latitude, the most common destination for holidays was Spain, where 58% of holidays were taken, followed by Portugal (14%), Italy (10%) and Turkey (7%). For 30°N latitude, the most common destination was the Canary Islands (60%), while for holidays at 50°N, the most common location was England followed by France. The most common month for holidays was July (21%), followed by September (17%). The majority of holidays were taken by those in the managerial and professional category (58%), followed by intermediate (23%) and routine and manual (19%).

Tables 3.3.14.1a to 3.3.14.4

3.4. Maternal characteristics

This section describes a number of characteristics of the mothers of the children in DNSIYCS and seeks to explore factors specifically associated with the mothers that may have an influence on the diet and health of the child.

3.4.1. Age

There were 616 participants in DNSIYCS, for whom the age of the mothers ranged from 17 to 47 years, with a mean (and median) age of 30 years. Over 50% of mothers were between the ages of 25 and 34 years, with the remainder evenly distributed below and above this age range. There were only 16 mothers (3% of the total) below the age of 20 years and 43 mothers (6%) aged 40 years or over. For this reason, the two youngest age groups and the two oldest age groups have been combined when describing characteristics of the mothers. The age distribution of the mothers in Scotland was virtually identical to the distribution in the UK sample.

Table 3.4.1

3.4.2. Height and weight

There were 2% of mothers with a body mass index (BMI) less than 18.5, 43% had a BMI between 18.5 and 25, 31% between 25 and 30 and 24% above 30. Women take varying lengths of time to lose any weight gained during pregnancy, and interpretation of results for BMI calculated from weights taken post pregnancy should take this into account.

Table 3.4.2

3.4.3. Marital status

Just over half (52%) of the mothers of DNSIYCS participants were married and living with their husband whilst 26% were not married but living with a partner. Twenty one per cent were single (i.e. not living as a couple and had never been married). There was variation with age, with 17% of mothers under 25 being married compared with 71% for mothers aged 35 years or over.

Table 3.4.3

3.4.4. Ethnic minorities

Overall, 95% of mothers were white, 2% were Asian, 1% were black, and 2% were mixed or 'other'. The proportion of white mothers was significantly higher in Scotland than in the UK sample.

Table 3.4.4

3.4.5. Education

Overall, 91% of mothers in DNSIYCS had some kind of qualification^[5]. Thirty three per cent were educated to degree level or above. These proportions were similar to the UK sample.

Table 3.4.5

3.4.6. Smoking and drinking

Around half of mothers (54%) reported that they had ever smoked. This proportion was higher in the younger age group ranging from 68% of those aged under 25 years, to between 47% to 57% of those aged above 25 years. In total 29% of mothers reported smoking in the three months before they knew they were pregnant, which reduced to 18% reporting they smoked after they knew they were pregnant. Overall 25% of mothers reported that they smoked at the time of the survey. This proportion also decreased with age from 45% of those under 25 years to 18% or less for those aged 30 years or over. These trends were similar to the UK sample.

Overall 74% of mothers reported drinking alcohol at the time of the survey, significantly higher than the UK sample (62%). Fifty eight per cent of mothers overall reported drinking alcohol in the three months before they knew they were pregnant and was similar for all age groups. The proportion drinking before they knew they were pregnant was significantly higher than in the UK sample but did not increase with age as in the UK sample. Twenty three per cent of mothers overall reported drinking alcohol once they knew they were pregnant, similar to the UK sample. The proportion drinking once they knew they were pregnant increased with age from 13% of mothers aged under 25 years to 38% of mothers aged 35 years or over. The number of units of alcohol consumed was not collected. Women who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant are advised to avoid alcohol, due to the potential risk to the unborn child. If women do decide to drink alcohol during pregnancy they should not drink more than one or two units once or twice a week^[6].

Tables 3.4.6.1 and 3.4.6.2

3.4.7. Dietary habits

A small proportion of those interviewed were not the mothers of the children and they are not included in this section.

3.4.7.1. Usual dietary habits

Breakfast

Of the mothers in the survey 62% reported eating breakfast every day, the same proportion as in the UK sample. This proportion increased with age, rising from 38% of those aged under 25 years to over 70% for those aged 30 years or over. The proportion of mothers who never ate breakfast decreased with age, from 15% of those aged under 25 years to 6% or less of those aged 30 years or over, similar to the UK sample.

Table 3.4.7.1.1

Fruit

Sixty two per cent of mothers reported eating fruit at least once a day, similar to the UK sample. This proportion increased with age, from 36% of those aged under 25 years to over 70% of those aged 30 years or over. Only a small proportion (3%) reported never eating fruit, and this decreased with age.

Vegetables

Seventy four per cent of mothers reported eating vegetables every day, similar to the UK sample. The proportion eating vegetables every day increased with age from 48% of those aged under 25 years to over 80% of those aged 30 years or over, as seen in the UK. Very few mothers (4%) ate vegetables less than one to three times a month. No mothers aged 35 years or over ate vegetables less often than one to three times a week.

Dairy products

In terms of dairy products, 53% of mothers reported eating these every day, with a similar pattern to the UK sample by age (although not significant), with older mothers more likely to eat dairy products every day. Overall 3% of mothers reported never eating dairy products. These proportions were similar to the UK sample.

Crisps

Fifty seven per cent of mothers reported eating crisps one to three times a week, and a further 23% ate crisps every day. The youngest mothers were more likely to eat crisps every day, with 31% of those aged under 25 years saying they ate crisps every day compared with 17% of those aged 35 years or over. Four per cent of mothers overall reported never eating crisps. These proportions were similar to the UK sample, although there was an overall tendency to more frequent crisp consumption in Scotland (once a day to 3 times a week).

Cakes

The overall frequency of consumption of cakes was very similar to that for crisps, with 53% of mothers eating cakes one to three times a week, and a further 23% eating cakes daily. Older mothers were more likely to eat cakes every day. Thirty five per cent of mothers aged 35 or over ate cakes daily compared with 15% of mothers aged under 25 years. These proportions were similar to the UK sample.

Sweets

Sixty per cent of mothers reported eating sweets one to three times a week, with a further 25% saying they ate sweets at least once a day. Only a small proportion (3%) reported never eating sweets. Frequency of sweet eating varied little with age. Overall there was a slight tendency for more frequent consumption of sweets (at least once a day) by mothers in Scotland than in the UK sample.

Table 3.4.7.1.2

Drinks

When asked what they usually drank when they were thirsty, 44% of mothers in Scotland reported that they drank water, significantly lower than in the UK sample (52%). Twenty four per cent of mothers indicated that they drank tea and coffee when thirsty, similar to the UK. Thirty per cent of mothers overall reported usually drinking artificially sweetened drinks when thirsty, significantly higher than the UK sample (20%). Twenty three per cent of mothers overall consumed sweetened drinks when thirsty, significantly higher than in the UK sample (14% for UK sample). The younger age groups were more likely to consume sweetened drinks, with 37% of those under 25 years indicating that they drank these. Four per cent of mothers overall drank fruit juice when thirsty. Very small proportions drank other types of drinks.

When drinking water at home, most mothers (80%) usually drank tap water; this proportion varied little with age, but was significantly higher than the UK sample (74%). Five per cent drank filtered tap water, with no trend with age and lower than the UK sample; 12% usually drank bottled water, as in the UK sample. A small proportion (2%) reported that they did not drink water, similar to the UK sample.

When asked about type of milk consumed, 60% of mothers reported usually using semi‑skimmed milk, 26% full fat milk and 8% skimmed milk, similar to the UK sample. Older mothers were more likely to drink skimmed and semi-skimmed milk than younger mothers, who were more likely to consume full fat milk.

Tables 3.4.7.1.3 to 3.4.7.1.6

Bread

White bread was the most popular type of bread consumed, with 37% of mothers saying that this is what they usually ate. White bread consumption decreased from over 65% of mothers aged under 25 years to 17% of mothers aged 35 years or over. This trend was also seen in the UK sample but was more marked in Scotland. The second most commonly consumed type of bread was wholemeal at 24% overall, increasing with age from 8% of mothers aged under 25 years, to over 37% of those aged 35 years or over. The overall proportion was the same as for the UK sample, but the trend with age was more marked in Scotland. Twenty one per cent of mothers usually consumed 50/50 bread, higher than in the UK, and a further 12% usually ate brown/wholegrain/multigrain bread.

Overall, 63% of mothers reported eating one to two slices of bread per day and there was little variation with age, as in the UK sample. Thirty three per cent of mothers reported that they ate either less than one slice or three to four slices per day, with little variation with age.

Tables 3.4.7.1.7 and 3.4.7.1.8

Fats and Spreads

Butter (37%) and polyunsaturated margarine (29%) were the most common spreads used by mothers. Consumption of butter was more common than in the UK sample (30%), 12% mainly used low fat spread and smaller proportions used other kinds of spread or did not use spread. The most common fats used in cooking were the sub‑food groups 'olive oil/hazelnut oil/rapeseed oil' (37% overall), vegetable oil (22%) and 'sunflower oil/corn oil/soya oil' (20%). Older mothers were more likely to use the sub-food group 'olive oil/hazelnut oil/rapeseed oil', while younger mothers were more likely to use 'sunflower oil/corn oil/ soya oil' and other vegetable oil.

Overall 73% of mothers reported that they usually ate none of the fat on meat, 14% indicated that they ate some of the fat on meat, and 7% indicated that they ate all of the fat on meat. These proportions differed from the UK with mothers in Scotland significantly more likely to eat none of the fat on meat and less likely to eat some or all of the fat. Seven per cent of mothers indicated that they did not eat meat. There was little variation in these proportions by age, as in the UK.

Tables 3.4.7.1.9 to 3.4.7.1.11

Oily fish

When asked about eating oily fish, 65% of mothers reported that they 'never' ate tinned oily fish, significantly higher than in the UK sample (58%); this proportion decreased with age, with 79% of mothers aged under 25 years indicating that they 'never' ate tinned oily fish, decreasing to 56% of those aged 35 years or over. Those mothers who did eat tinned oily fish mainly did so infrequently, with 16% less than once a month and 9% one to three days a month. Only 9% overall indicated that they ate tinned oily fish at least once a week and less than 1% did so at least three times per week. These figures were similar to the UK sample.

Overall 41% of mothers reported that they never ate fresh or frozen oily fish; this proportion also decreased with age, with 60% of those aged under 25 years saying that they 'never' ate fresh or frozen oily fish, decreasing to 21% of those aged 35 years or over. Twenty six per cent of mothers reported that they ate fresh or frozen oily fish at least once a week and this increased with age. This pattern was similar to the UK.

Table 3.4.7.1.12

Salt

Very similar proportions of mothers either 'always' added salt to food (23%) or 'never' added salt to food (22%), with smaller proportions saying that they added salt 'often', 'sometimes' or 'rarely'. There was little variation with age. This pattern was similar to the UK sample except that in the UK sample, significantly higher proportions indicated that they 'never' add salt to food (27%).

Table 3.4.7.1.13

Availability of fresh fruit and vegetables

Fresh fruit was reported to be 'always' available in the home by 79% of mothers in Scotland. This proportion showed some increases with age, from 57% of mothers under 25 years to 92% of those 35 years or over. This picture was similar to the UK sample. Only 1% of mothers overall indicated that they 'rarely' or 'never' had fresh fruit available in the home.

A similar pattern was seen for the availability of fresh vegetables in the home, with 69% saying that fresh vegetables were 'always' available, significantly lower than in the UK sample (77%). As with fruit, this proportion increased with age. Thirty per cent and 22% of those aged under 25 years and between 25 and 29 years respectively, had vegetables often available.

Table 3.4.7.1.14

3.4.7.2. Awareness of dietary recommendations for adults

Overall 86% of mothers in Scotland were aware that the recommended minimum number of fruit and vegetable portions that should be consumed each day was five, with little variation with age. Small proportions thought the number of portions recommended was higher (3%), lower (7%) or did not know (3%). These proportions also varied little with age.

Only 13% of mothers were aware that the maximum recommended amount of salt to be consumed each day was 6g, with no clear trend with age. Twenty seven per cent thought the maximum daily recommendation was less than 6g, 4% thought more than 6g and 56% overall said they did not know. These proportions varied with age but not consistently.

Overall, 11% of mothers were aware of the recommendation to eat at least one portion of oily fish each week. Fifty eight per cent thought the recommendation was higher than this and 31% did not know. There were no significant variations with age in Scotland, which is in contrast to the UK sample where there were significant age trends.

Table 3.4.7.2

3.4.7.3. Use of dietary supplements

Fifty seven per cent of breastfeeding mothers in Scotland reported taking any type of supplement. The most common supplement taken was a multi-vitamin and mineral (35% of breastfeeding mothers took these). Mothers were not asked about supplement use in pregnancy. For details of the supplement use in children in DNSIYCS refer to section 6.3.

Table 3.4.7.3