Dietary patterns and socioeconomic disadvantage: an analysis of food consumption patterns and their determinants in Cochabamba, Bolivia

TL;DR

This study in Cochabamba, Bolivia, found that lower socioeconomic status is linked to unhealthy, calorie-rich diets, highlighting the need for public health interventions.

Contribution

This is the first study to analyze the relationship between socioeconomic disadvantages and dietary patterns in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Findings

Two dietary patterns were identified: plant-based (37%) and calorie-rich but nutrient-poor (63%).

The nutrient-poor diet was strongly associated with lower socioeconomic status and poor housing conditions.

Peripheral areas of Cochabamba had the highest adherence to unhealthy dietary patterns.

Abstract

In low- and middle-income countries, socioeconomic disadvantages often shape the dietary patterns of the people living in them, frequently towards a diet rich in calories and poor in nutrients. In Bolivia, very little is known about the dietary patterns of household; in this regard, this study aimed to identify the dietary patterns of the population in the Municipality of Cochabamba and to analyze their relationship with socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics.

We conducted a cross-sectional observational study, with data collection conducted between October 2022 and March 2023. The sampling was done through a representative complex survey design of the Cochabamba urban population (n = 4496). Dietary patterns were constructed by combining principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Given their multidimensionality, socioeconomic, and demographic variables, the prevalence of cardio-metabolic diseases and food preferences were synthesized in a standardized index. This index was constructed by applying principal component analysis and multiple correspondence analysis. The association between dietary patterns and their determinants was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression considering a significance level of 0.05.

Two distinct dietary patterns were identified: whole-grain and plant-based foods (37%) and a calorie-rich but nutrient-poor diet (63%). This last one was statistically significantly associated with belonging to a medium–low socioeconomic stratum (p < 0.01), poor housing conditions (p < 0.05), informal occupational category (p < 0.05), food preferences for processed foods (p < 0.01), and a marginal association of interest with the prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases (p < 0.1). In this study, the peripheral areas of Cochabamba concentrated the population with the highest adherence to the calorie-rich but nutrient-poor diet.

To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the relationship between socioeconomic disadvantages and dietary patterns in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Belonging to a lower socioeconomic group was the main determinant of dietary patterns. The presence of a dietary pattern composed mainly of highly processed foods highlights the need to implement public policy measures and interventions to limit the supply of these products, given their expected negative impact on health.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s44263-025-00221-2.

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