FOOD-HABITS AND ENERGY AND NUTRIENT INTAKE IN SWEDISH ADOLESCENTS APPROACHING THE YEAR 2000

In 1993-94 a nutritional survey of ii-year-old adolescents was carried out in Uppsala, a university city in eastern Sweden, and in Trollhatt an, an industrial town in the western part of the country. The study w as the beginning of a longitudinal nutritional survey of 193 boys and 218 girls randomly selected from the official population register. The dietary methods used were a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and a combined estimated and weighed 7-day dietary record. According to the FFQ both boys and girls consumed cereals, butter or margarine and some thing from the group meat/fish/eggs every day. Milk, milk products, sw eets and snacks were consumed more than once per day. Vegetables and f ruit/roots roots were consumed less often. There was relatively good c orrelation between the FFQ and the 7-day record results. The mean dail y energy intakes of the 15-year-old boys and girls were 10.2 and 8.3 M J, respectively, in Uppsala, and 9.8 and 7.4 MJ in Trollhattan. The me an daily intakes of sucrose were 74 and 58 g in boys and 64 and 52 g i n girls. The average daily dietary fibre intake was 1.8 g/MJ. The dail y intake of energy obtained from breakfast was 18% on weekdays and 22% on weekends; 18 and 11% from prepared lunch; 24 and 30% from dinner, 21 and 14% from light meals; and 16 and 28% from snacks, in Uppsala an d Trollhattan respectively. The lowest energy intake from a prepared l unch meal was noted during weekends. On both weekdays and weekends, co nsiderable energy was obtained from light meals and snacks. However, n early 40% of the girls and 28% of the boys had an energy intake from f at of < 30 energy %. The mean intakes of vitamin D and selenium and, i n the case of girls, iron and zinc, were below the official Swedish Nu trition Recommendations. The daily median intake of iron was 18.7 mg i n boys and 14.1 mg in girls. The iron intakes varied between 6 and 35 mg per day. Low serum ferritin concentrations, defined as s-ferritin < 12 mu g/L, were found in 7 boys (3.7%) and in 29 girls (13.9%). Signif icant negative correlations were found between smoking and frequency o f consumption of vegetables, roots, fruits and meat. A negative correl ation was also found between smoking and the intake of energy and a nu mber of nutrients. Socioeconomic factors seem to be less important for the food habits of teenagers than for those noted during childhood. O nly frequent consumption of vegetables was positively correlated to th e mothers' educational level.