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

Dietary habits of mothers collected during the interview

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, 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, did not eat the fat on meat and consumed water rather than other drinks when thirsty. 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 recommendations for salt (13%) and oily fish (11%).