An examination of dairy consumption in the Chinese diet and development of a dietary assessment tool for use in Chinese Cohort

Dairy has a long history of being part of the human diet and is known for providing various nutrients. Traditionally in China, dairy consumption is reported to be lower than in Western countries. However, a noteworthy increase in dairy consumption, along with a growth in the dairy market have been observed in recent years. Nonetheless, there is a lack of research examining current dietary intake, and specifically dairy consumption, both total and individual dairy products, within the Chinese population leading to a lack of understanding of factors influencing Chinese dairy consumers. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis were to examine dairy consumption and the contribution of dairy to the Chinese diet, determine dairy consumption patterns in this target group, and further develop a web-based dietary assessment tool–Foodbook24 to access dietary and dairy intake for future use in the Chinese population. A cross-sectional population study was conducted to investigate dairy consumption in Chinese adults residing in China. Analyzing the data, our results demonstrated a generally sufficient dairy intake amongst dairy consumers, with a reported mean intake of 318.8 g/day. Some variations existed across specific population subgroups, including sex, age, and geographical location. Examining the daily intake and contribution of dairy and cheese in Chinese dairy consumers’ diet, it was found that age had a significant effect on dairy intake, with younger adults reporting the lowest intakes. Three dairy intake patterns were observed from dairy consumers: ‘Non-milk dairy’, ‘Low-fat dairy’ and ‘Dairy powder’. Comparing the energy and nutrient intake in total diet across the highest quartiles of factor components in each pattern, it was found that the ‘Non-milk dairy’ pattern was significantly higher in energy and %TE from fat than the ‘Low-fat dairy’ pattern, while the ‘Dairy powder’ pattern group had significantly higher intake in most nutrients compared to the other two patterns (‘Non-milk dairy’ pattern and ‘Low-fat dairy’). Age, education level, income level, occupation, lifestyle (smoking and drinking), as well as having experience living abroad were associated with dairy patterns. However, there was no significant association between sex and geographic location and dairy patterns. The performance of Foodbook24 in Chinese groups residing in Ireland and China compared with a traditional interviewer-led 24-hour dietary recall method suggests that Foodbook24 could be an acceptable tool for collecting dietary intake data in this group, and provide a convenient way to collect dietary data, which may lead to more accurate and comprehensive information on dietary intake in this population group. In conclusion, this thesis examined dietary intake with a specific focus on dairy consumption, within a Chinese population. We observed distinct dairy patterns in dairy consumers in China. Associations exist between dairy intake patterns and a range of socio-demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle factors in this population group. These findings could guide future research initiatives and policy development. Moreover, food industry stakeholders could utilize our findings to develop products that cater to consumer preferences and potentially expand the market in China. In addition, the expanded Foodbook24 showed the potential to access dietary intake in the Chinese population group, however, suggesting further development before use in China.