Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the UK Biobank cohort^a

Age at completion of first Oxford WebQ (years)

57 (8)

57 (8)

58 (8)

58 (8)

58 (8)

57 (8)

BMI (kg/m²)

26.5 (4.3)

26.7 (4.4)

26.5 (4.3)

26.4 (4.2)

26.3 (4.3)

26.6 (4.4)

Energy (kJ/d)

9,079 (2,307)

8,515 (2,246)

8,994 (2,236)

9,214 (2,253)

9,337 (2,287)

9,334 (2,407)

Ethnic background

- White

169,902 (96.3)

34,095 (96.7)

34,242 (97.1)

34,158 (96.8)

34,094 (96.7)

33,313 (94.4)

- Mixed, Asian, Black, Chinese, and other

6,450 (3.7)

1,176 (3.3)

1,028 (2.9)

1,112 (3.2)

1,176 (3.3)

1,958 (5.6)

General health status

- Poor

3,636 (2.1)

637 (1.8)

545 (1.5)

595 (1.7)

714 (2.0)

1,145 (3.2)

- Fair

26,538 (15.1)

5,299 (15.0)

4,918 (13.9)

4,875 (13.8)

5,179 (14.7)

6,267 (17.8)

- Good

107,977 (61.2)

21,579 (61.2)

21,624 (61.3)

21,943 (62.2)

21,780 (61.8)

21,051 (59.7)

- Excellent

38,201 (21.7)

7,756 (22.0)

8,183 (23.2)

7,857 (22.3)

7,597 (21.5)

6,808 (19.3)

Highest qualification

- None of the below

13,355 (7.6)

2,914 (8.3)

2,485 (7.0)

2,523 (7.2)

2,515 (7.1)

2,918 (8.3)

- National exams at age 16 years

26,565 (15.1)

5,385 (15.3)

5,079 (14.4)

5,145 (14.6)

5,235 (14.8)

5,721 (16.2)

- Vocational qualifications or optional national exams at ages 17-18 years

31,197 (17.7)

6,390 (18.1)

6,086 (17.3)

6,009 (17.0)

6,007 (17.0)

6,705 (19.0)

- Professional

27,196 (15.4)

5,266 (14.9)

5,237 (14.8)

5,587 (15.8)

5,518 (15.6)

5,588 (15.8)

- College or University

78,039 (44.3)

15,316 (43.4)

16,383 (46.5)

16,006 (45.4)

15,995 (45.4)

14,339 (40.7)

History of cancer

14,628 (8.3)

2,829 (8.0)

2,872 (8.1)

2,970 (8.4)

3,030 (8.6)

2,927 (8.3)

History of mental illnesses

11,590 (6.6)

2,292 (6.5)

2,161 (6.1)

2,099 (6.0)

2,276 (6.5)

2,762 (7.8)

Hypertension

36,942 (21.0)

7,949 (22.5)

7,334 (20.8)

7,248 (20.6)

7,147 (20.3)

7,264 (20.6)

Physical activity (MET-min/week)

4,133 (2,647)

4,068 (2,654)

4,112 (2,566)

4,139 (2,560)

4,145 (2,597)

4,202 (2,848)

Sex – female

103,136 (58.5)

20,720 (58.7)

20,974 (59.5)

20,731 (58.8)

20,669 (58.6)

20,042 (56.8)

Smoking status

- Never

102,774 (58.3)

18,383 (52.1)

19,970 (56.6)

20,912 (59.3)

21,752 (61.7)

21,757 (61.7)

- Previous

60,959 (34.6)

14,043 (39.8)

12,983 (36.8)

12,178 (34.5)

11,222 (31.8)

10,533 (29.9)

- Occasional

4,267 (2.4)

1,018 (2.9)

874 (2.5)

816 (2.3)

778 (2.2)

781 (2.2)

- Current <10 cigarettes per day

2,221 (1.3)

477 (1.4)

400 (1.1)

374 (1.1)

450 (1.3)

520 (1.5)

- Current 10 to 14 cigarettes per day

1,894 (1.1)

384 (1.1)

327 (0.9)

316 (0.9)

341 (1.0)

526 (1.5)

- Current 15 to 19 cigarettes per day

1,661 (0.9)

353 (1.0)

278 (0.8)

273 (0.8)

297 (0.8)

460 (1.3)

- Current ≥20 cigarettes per day

2,576 (1.5)

613 (1.7)

438 (1.2)

401 (1.1)

430 (1.2)

694 (2.0)

Total household income per year (k£)

- <18

22,694 (12.9)

4,302 (12.2)

4,142 (11.7)

4,292 (12.2)

4,627 (13.1)

5,331 (15.1)

- 18 to <31

38,072 (21.6)

7,242 (20.5)

7,431 (21.1)

7,617 (21.6)

7,772 (22.0)

8,010 (22.7)

- 31 to <52

46,119 (26.2)

9,112 (25.8)

9,321 (26.4)

9,290 (26.3)

9,199 (26.1)

9,197 (26.1)

- 52 to <100

40,258 (22.8)

8,556 (24.3)

8,434 (23.9)

8,162 (23.1)

7,916 (22.4)

7,190 (20.4)

- ≥100

12,055 (6.8)

2,773 (7.9)

2,657 (7.5)

2,450 (6.9)

2,280 (6.5)

1,895 (5.4)

- Unknown

17,154 (9.7)

3,286 (9.3)

3,285 (9.3)

3,459 (9.8)

3,476 (9.9)

3,648 (10.3)

Townsend deprivation index

-1.7 (2.8)

-1.5 (2.9)

-1.7 (2.8)

-1.7 (2.8)

-1.8 (2.8)

-1.5 (2.9)

Intrinsic sugars

13.0 (5.7)

14.4 (6.5)

13.7 (5.6)

13.1 (5.3)

12.5 (5.1)

11.4 (5.3)

FS

11.4 (5.6)

4.5 (1.7)

8.2 (0.8)

10.8 (0.7)

13.6 (1.0)

19.6 (4.3)

FS beverages

4.7 (4.6)

1.1 (1.4)

2.6 (2.1)

3.9 (2.5)

5.6 (3.0)

10.4 (5.8)

- Soda/fruit drinks

1.6 (3.2)

0.2 (0.6)

0.5 (1.2)

0.9 (1.7)

1.6 (2.4)

4.6 (5.4)

- Juice

2.1 (2.8)

0.6 (1.2)

1.4 (1.8)

2.1 (2.2)

2.7 (2.6)

3.8 (4.0)

- Milk-based drinks

0.3 (0.9)

0.1 (0.5)

0.2 (0.7)

0.3 (0.9)

0.4 (1.0)

0.6 (1.3)

- Tea/coffee

0.6 (1.6)

0.2 (0.6)

0.3 (0.9)

0.5 (1.2)

0.7 (1.6)

1.4 (2.6)

FS solids

6.6 (3.5)

3.4 (1.8)

5.6 (2.1)

6.9 (2.5)

8.1 (3.0)

9.2 (4.1)

- Treats

4.4 (3.0)

2.1 (1.6)

3.6 (2.0)

4.5 (2.4)

5.3 (2.8)

6.3 (3.8)

- Cereals

0.5 (0.8)

0.3 (0.6)

0.5 (0.7)

0.5 (0.8)

0.6 (0.8)

0.6 (0.9)

- Toppings

1.2 (1.6)

0.4 (0.9)

0.9 (1.4)

1.3 (1.6)

1.6 (1.8)

1.7 (2.0)

- Sauces

0.3 (0.4)

0.2 (0.4)

0.3 (0.4)

0.3 (0.4)

0.3 (0.4)

0.3 (0.4)

Number of Oxford WebQs

2.2 (1.2)

2.0 (1.1)

2.3 (1.2)

2.4 (1.2)

2.3 (1.2)

2.0 (1.1)