Nutrition habits and frequency of consumption of selected food products by the residents of urban and rural area from the Subcarpathian voivodeship.

Background: The dynamic development and change of rural lifestyle patterns towards urban patterns has been noticeable since the second half of the 20th century. Nutrition, as well as the lifestyle in urban and rural areas, has undergone a process of urbanization, which is evidenced by the following an increasing number of overweight people.

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare eating habits and frequency of consumption of selected groups of products between the urban and rural residents from the Subcarpathian voivodeship.

Material And Methods: The survey was carried out on a sample of 279 persons from urban and rural areas of Subcarpathian voivodeship. In this study, the diagnostic survey method consisting of 3 (different) parts was used. To check the significance of differences, U Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used; whereas correlations between variables were determined by the Spearman's rank of correlation coefficient and Pearson's chi-quadrat test.

Results: In the part concerning eating habits, statistically significant differences occurred among others; for the circumstances of eating meals, the most commonly consumed snacks, food processing techniques and the most frequently selected fat. In the part concerning the frequency of consumption of individual product groups, significant differences occurred among others; for dairy products, grain products, fast food, alcohol. There was a correlation between the frequency of consumption of individual products and socioeconomic status.

Conclusions: The quality of the diet and eating habits of urban and rural residents of Subcarpathian voivodeship does not differ significantly. The detected differences in eating habits were more influenced by the education and socioeconomic status of the examined group than the place of residence.