SOURCES OF MACRONUTRIENTS AND MICRONUTRIENTS IN ITALIAN WOMEN - RESULTS FROM A FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR CANCER STUDIES

The knowledge of major sources of macro-and micronutrients is essentia l in order to interpret differences in the diet-cancer link in various geographical areas and to provide better nutritional guidelines, For this purpose we took advantage of the control group of a case-control study on breast cancer carried out in six Italian areas. The dietary h abits of 2,588 cancer-free women aged 20-74 years (median age 56) were elicited between 1991 and 1994 by means of an interviewer-administere d food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) that included 78 foods or food gr oups, in addition to several questions on general dietary pattern (eg, fat in seasoning), Bread was the first contributor for total energy ( 12%), protein (8%) and starch (32%) intake, whereas, for saturated fat ty acids, the first sources were different types of cheese (28%); for monounsaturated fatty acids the dressing oils of salad and tomatoes (1 2%); and, for sugars, apples and pears (19%), Raw vegetables and fresh fruit represented the most important source of most vitamins, The fir st contributors of vitamin C and beta-carotene were citrus fruits (29% ) and raw carrots (17%), respectively, Thus, between 40 and 80% of spe cific macronutrient intake and up to 90% intake of several micronutrie nts were derived from the first ten foods or food groups, Often, the m ajor contributors to the intake of a specific component were foods wit h a relatively low content, but eaten in large quantities, This work f urther highlights the specificity of nutrient sources in southern Euro pean populations.