DIETARY-INTAKE AMONG NORWEGIAN ADOLESCENTS

Objective: The aim of the nationwide study on dietary behaviour of ado lescents was to describe and evaluate dietary habits, and relate that to other lifestyle factors. Design and subjects: 1564 students in seco ndary schools completed a self-administered quantitative food frequenc y questionnaire in a school setting. Results: The questionnaire showed an average energy intake of 15.8 and 9.9MJ among boys and girls, resp ectively. Nearly 31% of the energy was supplied by fat and 11.4% by su gar. The average daily intake of micronutrients exceeded the Norwegian recommendations, except for vitamin D and iron in girls. 13.4% of the students had breakfast twice a week or less. These students had a hig her percentage of energy from fat and sugar, and a lower intake of mic ronutrients, than students eating breakfast more often. Students who w ere daily smokers or fairly inactive had higher energy percentage from fat and sugar and lower intake of fibre, than nonsmokers or physicall y active students. Conclusion: Half of the students consumed a diet wi th too much fat and two-thirds consumed too much sugar as compared to the recommendations. The girls had a diet with a higher nutrient densi ty and a lower fat energy percentage than the boys. Finally, it seemed as if a healthy lifestyle was associated with a healthy diet. Sponsor ship: Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs; Ministry of Children and Family Affairs; Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. De scriptors: adolescent nutrition, dietary surveys, food habits, lifesty le